APPEARANCE
Wolf-willow has smooth, silvery leaves up to one centimetre long, and grows up to four metres tall with its twigs covered in rusty-brown scales. It has trumpet-shaped yellow flowers, and silvery berries.
RANGE & HABITAT
This shrub is found in mountainous areas on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and in northern B.C.. It likes dry sandbars, roadsides and the edge of meadows. It spreads quickly in areas disturbed by floods, landslides and development.
LIFE CYCLE
The yellow flowers ripen into silvery berries, one centimetre long, with a single seed inside each one. Some birds are attracted to the seeds, and help to spread them.
ANIMAL USES
Wolf-willow is important food for moose and elk in the wintertime. A few birds eat the seeds, and the shrubs provide good cover and protection for moose, deer, birds and other animals.
TRADITIONAL USES BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The silver berries can be strung together to make necklaces, and the bark woven into bags, baskets, blankets and rope. In Alaska, the fruits are cooked in moose fat and eaten.
OTHER USES
Wolf-willow is a common ornamental tree in dry and rock gardens.
STATUS
COSEWIC: Not at Risk
CDC: Yellow
MORE INFORMATION
Photo: Bob Pruner
More Sub-Boreal Interior species
