The Trees of Vermont 59 



SALICACEAE 



€rack Willow 

 Salix fragilis L. 



Habit. — A tree 50-60 feet high, with a short, stout trunk 3-4 feet 

 in diameter ; stout, spreading branches form a broad, open crown. 



Leaves. — Ahernate, simple, 3-6 inches long, ^-1^'2 inches broad; 

 lanceolate, long-pointed ; finely glandular-serrate ; thin and firm ; 

 lustrous, dark green above, paler beneath, glabrous both sides ; petioles 

 short, stout, with 2 glands at the junction of blade and petiole. 



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

 pubescent catkins 1-3 inches long; calyx 0; corolla 0; scales blunt, 

 somewhat pubescent; stamens usually 2; ovary abortive, with stigmas 

 nearly sessile. Staminate trees rare. 



Fruit. — May-June ; 1-celled, long-conical, short-stalked capsule, 

 about % inch long, containing many minute seeds which are furnished 

 with long, silky, white hairs. 



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

 pointed, glabrous, bright red-brown, about ^4 "ich long. 



Bark. — Twigs pubescent, yellow-green, often reddish, becoming 

 glabrous, lustrous, brown ; thick, gray on the trunk, smooth in young 

 trees, very rough, irregularly scaly-ridged in old trees. 



Wood. — Light, soft, tough^ close-grained, red-brown, with thick, 

 whitish sapwood. 



Notes. — This willow is a native of Europe and Asia, where it is 

 a valuable timber tree. It is commonly cultivated and frequently 

 escapes. The crack willow is hardy throughout Vermont, of very 

 rapid growth, and thrives in rich, damp soil. The twigs are very 

 brittle at the base and are broken easily by the wind, hence the name 

 "crack willow." 



