THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 59 



i 

 flueiiv-v of the VVahlamet, attaining to the height of about six 

 to eight feet, and when in flower appeared as showy as a 

 Mimosa." I quite agree with Nuttall, as to the appearance of 

 this willow. The flowers come out with the leaves which are 

 very soft to the touch — Nuttall likened them to velvet — and 

 are made noticeable amid the surounding river vegetation by 

 the lemon-yellow catkins and the soft sage green color of the 

 leaves. Later in the season — the species blooms in June or the 

 latter part of May — the leaves lo^e much of the soft pubes- 

 cence, but retain the peculiar color. This willow is very com- 

 mon about the Williamette River near Eugene. 



The sandbar willow, Salix melanopsis bolanderiana is 

 very similar to its near relative, the soft-leaved willow 

 (S. sessilifolia), but is not so beautiful. The catkins are similar 

 in shape and color, but the capsules are not as densely pube- 

 scent. The leaves lack that wonderful softness to the touch, 

 and are often devoid of pubescence. This species is very com- 

 mon on the sandbars, and is very attractive in appearance in 

 the winter, when the leaves are gone, due to the bright red or 

 yellow color of the twigs of the slender bushes, which are not 

 ashy as in the case of the soft-leaved willow. 



The willows make very attractive herbarium specimens, 

 when one has the leaves mounted on the cardboard with the 

 catkins. They are especially beautiful, when the capsules are 

 partly open and the seeds are escaping. But better than the 

 dried specimens are the living willows themselves. 



