This alliance includes willow carrs with Salix aurita, S. cinerea, S. pentandra, Frangula alnus and in some areas also Spiraea salicifolia. The herb layer is usually sparse due to shading by shrubs; it includes species of marshes and wet meadows. This vegetation type occurs in floodplains, near ponds, in wet meadows and at the margins of fens from the lowlands to mountain sites. Its habitats are very similar to those of alder carrs, but usually they are either more recently disturbed or wetter.