SALICACE^. 348 



2. COMPTO'NIA. 

 Flowers monoecious. Slerik fi. — Ament cylindric ; bract 

 reniform-coidate, acuminate; calyx scale 2-parted ; stamens 

 3, forked ; anthers 6. Ftrlikji. — Ament ovate ; calyx scales 

 C, longer than the bract ; styles 2 ; nut ovoid, 1-celled. 



Named in honor of Henry Compton, Lord Bishop of London, who made 

 extensive collections of plants. 



C. ASPLENIFO'lIA. Ait. Liquidambar aspl. L. 



Leaves long, linear-lanceolate, alternately sinuate-pinnatifid. A well 

 known, handsome, aromatic shrub, 2 feet high, common in dry woods and 

 hills. The main stem is covered with a rusty, brown bark, which becomes 

 reddish in the branches, and white downy in the young shoots. Leaves 

 numerous, on short peduncles, 3—4 inches long, ^ inch broad, divided nearly 

 to the midrib into numerous, rounded lobes so as to resemble those of the 

 spleenwort. Stipules in pairs, acuminate. Barren flowers in erect, cylindric 

 catkins, terminal and lateral. Fertile flowers in a dense, rounded burr 

 or head, situated below the barren ones. Fruit a small, ovate, brown, 1-celled 

 nut. May. Sweet Fern. 



ORDER CXXIX. SALIC ACE^. Ue WUlow Tribe. 



Fls .—Diccciousi, amentaceous, achlamydeous, a.xillary to 1-flowered bracts. 

 Sterile. — Sta. 2 — several, distinct or monadelphous. Anth. 2-celled. 

 I'"ektile. — Ova. 1 — 2-celled. Oc»Zcs numerous, erect. Styles ox stigmas 2. 

 Fr. — Coriaceous, l-celled, 2-valved. 

 Sds. — Numerous, ascending, lurnished with a silky coma. Albumen 0. 



Trees and shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple. Stipules deciduous or persistent. Chiefly 

 natives of the northern temperate and t'rigid zones, one species, Salix arctica, extending 

 farther north than any other known woody plant. 



Properties. The bark is astringent and tonic, possessing the febrifugal properties of the 

 sulphate of quinia. The wood is employed for various economical purposes. 



Genera. 



( 2—5. Capsule l-celled .Sallr. 1 



Stamens ( 8—20. Capsule 2-celled Populus. 2 



♦ 1. SALIX. 



Aments cylindric; bracts imbricate. Sterile fi. with a 

 •nectariferous gland at the base of the bract; stamens 2 — 5. 

 Fertile fi. — Stigmas 2, mostly bifid; capsule l-celled. 



Celtic, sal, near, and lis, water ; alluding to their usual locality. Trees 

 and shrubs. 



* Leaves entire or subserrate. Aments precocious (S. Uva-Ursi excepted). 

 1. S. vimina'lis. 



Leaves linear-lanceolate, very long, acuminate, subentire, silky-canescent 

 beneath ; stipules minute ; branches virgate ; aments precocious (appearing 

 before the leaves); scales roundish, very hairy ; ovaries sessile, ovoid; stijle 

 filiform ; stirrjnas undivided, acute. This beautiful willow was probably 

 introduced from Europe. Wet meadows and margins of rivers. Stems 

 10 — 12 feet high, with long, straight, slender and flexible branches. Leaves 

 often a foot in length, narrow, covered with a snow white pubescence beneath. 

 Aments very hairy. May. Osier. Basket fVittow. 



