Narrow-leaf Willow
Salix exigua
KeystoneHosts 3 caterpillarsPollinator plant

(c) Stan Shebs, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Growing it
| When | Flowers April to May; fruits May to June |
|---|---|
| Type | shrub |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Medium, high |
| Soil | pH 5.5–7.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 2–7 |
| Mature height | 4 m |
| Mature spread | 3 m |
| Spacing | 2 m |
| Years to maturity | 5 |
| Bloom | Apr–May |
| Flower colour | Cream not verified, a genus-level estimate |
| In bloom | April May |
| Fruit | May–Jun |
| Native to | AB |
narrow linear leaves about 10 cm long; spreads by suckers into a colony
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 26 records, high confidence
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 16 records, medium confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 11 records, medium confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 9 records, medium confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 8 records, medium confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 7 records, low confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 7 records, low confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 6 records, low confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 4 records, low confidence
- Tazin Lake Upland north AB / SK: 3 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
10 documented relationships.
caterpillar host for
- Mourning Cloak Pohl et al. 2018
- Nevada Buckmoth Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Rabdophaga rigidae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Rabdophaga salicisbrassicoides Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Rabdophaga strobiloides Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- White-lined Sphinx Specimen records from ecdysis.org
nectar for
- Andrena erythrogaster Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Brown-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Minimal Cuckoo Nomad Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Mourning Cloak Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Also worth knowing
Safety
Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety
Buying it
About $25–$50 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (shrub default); AB retail as of 2026
Where these numbers came from
- Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate