WILLOW FAMILY. 499 
14. Salix tristis Ait. Dwarf Gray Willow. Sage Willow. (Fig. 1186. ) 
Salix tristis Ait. Hort. Kew. 3: 393. 1789. Z, 
A tufted, slender shrub, 1°-2° tall, the twigs 
terete, puberulent, the roots long and thick. 
Leaves oblanceolate or linear-oblong, acute or 
obtusish, somewhat undulate, green and pu- 
berulent or glabrous above, persistently and 
densely white-tomentose beneath, numerous, 
crowded, 1/-2’ long, their margins revolute; 
petioles about 1’’ long; stipules minute, decid- 
uous; aments expanding much before the leaves, 
dense, very small, comparatively few-flowered, 
sessile, the pistillate globose-ovoid and about 
44/ long in fruit; scales persistent; stamens 2; 
filaments glabrous; stigmas sessile or nearly so; 
capsule ovoid with a long, slender beak, tomen- 
tulose, about 3/’ long, much longer than its 
filiform pedicel. 
In dry soil, Nova Scotia (?), Maine to Minnesota, 
south to Florida and Tennessee. March-April. 
15. Salix discolor Muhl. Glaucous Willow. Pussy Willow. (Fig. 1187.) 
Salix discolor Muhl. Neue Schrift. Ges. Nat. Fr. Ber- 
lint) 42345 pl6n fi 7. 1803; 
Salia ertocephala Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 225. 1803. 
A shrub or low tree, maximum height 25°, trunk 
diameter 1°; twigs puberulent or glabrous; young 
leaves sometimes pubescent. Mature leaves usually 
glabrous, bright green above, glaucous and nearly 
white beneath, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acute at 
both ends, irregularly serrate or nearly entire, slen- 
der-petioled, 3/-5’ long, 8’’-18’’ wide; petioles 3//— 
12’’ long; stipules obliquely lanceolate or semicor- 
date, commonly deciduous; aments unfolding much 
before the leaves, dense, the pistillate 1%4’—3/ long in 
fruit; scales persistent, obtuse, brown-purple, vil- 
lous; stamens 2; filaments glabrous; stigmas nearly 
sessile; capsule narrowly conic, tapering to a slender 
beak, tomentose, 2'%4’/-3’’ long, much longer than 
its pedicel. 
In swamps or on moist hillsides, Nova Scotia to Man- 
itoba, Delaware and Missouri. Wood soft, weak, yel- 
low-brown; weight per cubic foot 27 lbs. March-April. 
Salix discolor prinoides (Pursh) Anders. in DC. Prodr. 16: Part 2, 209. 1868. 
Salix prinoides Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 613. 1814. 
Pistillate aments looser; capsules less tomentose; leaves commonly narrower. Range of the type. 
16. Salix sericea Marsh. Silky Willow. 
(Fig. 1188.) 
Salix sericea Marsh. Arb. Am. 140. 1785. 
A shrub, 5°-12° tall, with slender purplish puberulent 
twigs, the young leaves densely silky-pubescent. Ma- 
ture leaves glabrous or nearly so, lanceolate, acuminate, 
narrowed or obtuse at the base, serrulate all around with 
gland-tipped teeth, dark green above, paler and somie- 
what glaucous beneath, turning brown or black in dry- 
ing, 234’-4’ long, 5’/-10’’ wide; stipules narrow, de- 
ciduous; petioles 2/’-7’’ long, sometimes glandular; 
aments expanding before the leaves, sessile, usually 
with a few leafy bracts at the base, dense, the staminate 
about 1’ long, the pistillate 1/-1 4’ long in fruit; scales 
villous, persistent; stamens 2; filaments glabrous; style 
very short; capsule ovoid-oblong, obtuse, pubescent, 
short-pedicelled, about 1%4’’ long. 
In swamps and along steams, Maine to Michigan and 
Virginia. May. 
