The Trees of Vermont 57 



SALICACEAE 



Black Willow 

 Salix nigra Marsh. 



TTabtt. — A tree 30-50 feet high, with a short trunk, 1-2 feet in 

 diameter; stout, spreading branches form a broad, rather irregular, 

 open crown. Often a shrub. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 3-6 inches long, ^-^ inch broad ; 

 lanceolate, very long-pointed, often curved at the tip; finely serrate; 

 thin ; bright green and rather lustrous above, paler and often hairy 

 beneath ; petioles very short, more or less pubescent. 



Flowers. — May, with the leaves ; dioecious ; borne in crowded, 

 slender, hairy catkins, 1-3 inches long; calyx 0; corolla 0; scales yellow, 

 villous, with 3-6 stamens ; ovary ovoid-conical, short-stalked, with stig- 

 mas nearly sessile. 



Fruit. — June ; ovoid-conical capsule, ^^ inch long, containing 

 many minute seeds which are furnished with long, silky, white hairs. 



Winter-buds. — Terminal bud absent; lateral buds narrow-conical, 

 acute, lustrous, red-brown, ji inch long. 



Bark. — Twigs glabrous or pubescent, bright red-brown, becoming 

 darker with age ; thick, dark brown or nearly black on old trunks, 

 deeply divided into broad, flat ridges, often becoming shaggy. 



Wood. — Light, soft, weak, close-grained, light red-brown, with 

 thin, whitish sapwood. 



Distribution. — Common throughout Vermont. 



Habitat. — Banks of streams and ponds ; lake-shores. 



Notes. — The black willow is a slender, rather graceful tree, com- 

 mon everywhere along the banks of lakes and streams. It may be 

 recognized usually by its stouter dark brown or black twigs in contrast 

 with the more slender, yellowish or bluish-green twigs of the European 

 species. When the pendulous catkins open, three to five or more stamens 

 may be found in each tiny flower. The leaves are green when mature 

 and smooth except on the mid veins and petioles. The branchlets are 

 very brittle at the base, and these, broken oiT by the wind, are carried 

 down stream, often catching in the muddy banks and there taking root. 



