430 SALiCACE^. (willow family.) 



* Aments small, sessile : ovary silky : stamens 2. — Low canescent shrubs, with small 



leaves. Aments developed before the leaves. 



1. S. tristis, Ait. Leaves very numerous, lanceolate, obtuse or acute, 

 entire or wavy, at least on the margins, tapering at the base, nearly sessile, cov- 

 ered with a grayish down, at length smoothish above ; stipules minute, caducous ; 

 flowering aments small, globular ; the oval bracts hairy on the margins ; style 

 short; ovary slender, long-beaked. — Dry barren soil, in the upper districts of 

 Georgia, and northward. March and April. — Shrub l°-2° high. Leaves 

 l'-2' long. 



2. S. humilis, Marshall. Leaves lanceolate, obtuse or abruptly pointed, 

 naiTowed into a petiole, smoothish above, grayish-pubescent beneath, often 

 slightly serrate near the summit; stipules small, semi-cordate or lunate, entire or 

 toothed ; flowering aments ovoid or oblong, often drooping, with the lanceolate 

 bracts villous ; style conspicuous ; ovary slender. (S. conifera, ^/w/i/. S. Muh- 

 lenbcrgiana, Willd.) — Barren soil in the upper districts, and northward. March. 

 — Shrub 2° - 4° high, often bearing cone-like excrescences. 



3. S. rosmarinifolia, L. Leaves linear-lanceolate, nearly entire, flat, 

 pubescent above, silky beneath ; ovary lanceolate, villous ; styles elongated. — 

 Swamps and low ground, Florida ? and northward. — Shrub 2° - 4° high. 

 Branches silky. Leaves 1'- 2' long. Stipules subulate. Bracts oblong, obtuse, 

 hairy on the margins. 



* * Aments larye, cylindrical, sessile, silky -villous, developed before the leaves : ovaries 



woolly. — Large shrubs. 



4. S. discolor, Muhl. Branchlets pubescent; leaves oblong, petioled, 

 acute at each end, seiTate in the middle, smooth and shining above, glaucous 

 beneath ; stipules semi-lunar, toothed ; aments woolly, with glossy hairs ; sta- 

 mens 2 ; ovary white-silky, sessile. — Low ground, Carolina, Pursti, and north- 

 ward. April. — Shrub 8° -10° high. Leaves 2' -4' long. Aments l'-l|' 

 long. 



* * * Aments large, cylindrical, on leafy peduncles or branchlets, appearing with the 



leaves : ovaries smooth, stalked. 



5. S. Ploridana, n sp. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, smooth above, 

 glaucous beneath, finely seiTate, rounded at the base, the petioles pubescent ; 

 stipules small, caducous ; ftniiting ament oblong, dense ; capsule ovate-lanceolate, 

 smooth. — Rocky banks, West Florida, fruiting in April. — Shrub 8°- 12° high. 

 Leaves thin, 2' - 3' long. Fruiting aments 2' - 3' long, 1' in diameter, enveloped 

 in the copious wool of the seeds. Flowers not seen. 



6. S. nigra, Marshall. Leaves lanceolate, acute at each end, serrate, peti- 

 oled, pubescent wiien young, becoming smoothish and green on both surfaces ; 

 stipules small and caducous, or sometimes lunate, toothed, and persistent ; 

 aments elongated, the fertile ones slender, loose-flowered ; bracts deciduous ; sta- 

 mens 3-6, hairy below ; capsule ovate, acuminate, pointed by the conspicuous 

 style. (S. Houstoniana, Pursh.) — Swamps and muddy banks of rivers, Florida, 

 and northward. A shrub or small tree, with brittle branches. Leaves 2' - 3' 



