Sandbar Willow
Salix interior
KeystoneHosts 9 caterpillarsSpecialist hostBird foodPollinator plant

(c) Harvey Barrison, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Growing it
| When | Flowers April to May; fruits June to July |
|---|---|
| Type | shrub |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Medium, high |
| Soil | pH 5.5–8 |
| Hardiness | zone 2–7 |
| Mature height | 3 m |
| Mature spread | 2.25 m |
| Spacing | 1.5 m |
| Years to maturity | 3 |
| Bloom | Apr–May |
| Flower colour | Cream not verified, a genus-level estimate |
| In bloom | April May |
| Fruit | Jun–Jul |
| Native to | AB, SK |
narrow linear leaves about 12 cm long; spreads by suckers into a colony
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 302 records, high confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 208 records, high confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 165 records, high confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 57 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 31 records, high confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 21 records, high confidence
- Northern Continental Divide south AB: 20 records, high confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 19 records, medium confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 16 records, medium confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 14 records, medium confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 10 records, medium confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 10 records, medium confidence
- Athabasca Plain north AB / SK: 3 records, low confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 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
32 documented relationships, 2 with a specialist that has no alternative.
nectar for
- Andrena crataegi Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Andrena erythrogaster Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Andrena mariae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Augochlorella aurata Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Halictus ligatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Hylaeus mesillae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Hylaeus modestus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Lasioglossum pilosum Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Leucospis affinis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Melissodes bimaculatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Spring Cellophane Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Two-spotted Lady Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
caterpillar host for
- Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- Cecropia Moth Pohl et al. 2018
- Compton Tortoiseshell Pohl et al. 2018
- Fall Webworm Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Mourning Cloak Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- Polyphemus Moth Pohl et al. 2018
- Rabdophaga rigidae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Rabdophaga salicisbrassicoides Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Rabdophaga strobiloides Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Spotted Tussock Moth Pohl et al. 2018
- Western Tiger Swallowtail Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- White Admiral Acorn & Sheldon 2006
pollen for
- Andrena miserabilis Robertson 1929
- Helophilus latifrons Robertson 1929
- Mining Bees ★Wilson & Carril 2015
- Morellia micans Robertson 1929
- Phormia regina Robertson 1929
- Tricoloured Bumble Bee Packer
cover for
- Black-capped Chickadee Cornell Lab of Ornithology
nest site for
- Yellow Warbler ★Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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