160 AMENTACE^ 



Group VII. Eeticulat.^l. — Borr. 



Stamens 2 ; capsules crowded, sessile, downy ; stigmas almost sessile ; 

 catkins cylindrical, terminal, stalked, appearing with the full-grown leaves ; 

 leaves roundish, with netted veins beneath. Dwarf alpine shrubs, with the 

 stem creeping below the svu-face of the ground. 



18. Reticulated, Netted or Wrinkled-leaved Willow {S. reticu- 

 lata). — Leaves alternate, roundish, nearly smooth. This is a very remarkable 

 Willow, and quite unlike the other British species. It has a short, stout, 

 woody, trailing stem, very mUch branched, and large handsome leaves of 

 deep glossy green above, and sea-green tint or white beneath, very curiously 

 netted, with an abundance of prominent veins, which are on the under 

 surface sometimes of purple colour. The stems have also a reddish or 

 purplish tinge, and the buds and catkins are often of deep purple. The 

 latter appear in June and July. It is an alpine Willow, occurring on 

 elevated mountains of the middle and north of Scotland, at altitudes 

 between 2,000 and 3,200 feet. It grows on the Pyrenees and other moun- 

 tains, above the limits of perpetual snow, and is found also in Arctic regions 

 up to the extreme limits of vegetation. Sir J. E. Smith quotes the remark 

 of Lightfoot, that the soil of many of the Highland mountains on which it 

 grows is micaceous. 



Group VIII. Glauc.'E.— 5orr. 



Stamens 2 ; capsule sessile, very downy or silky ; catkins compact, appear- 

 ing with the leaves. Small upright shrubs, mostly remarkable for their 

 leaves, which are soft, hairy, silky, and generally white and cottony beneath. 



19. Downy Mountain Willow or Sand Willow (»S'. arendria). — 

 Leaves between roundish-egg-shaped and olilong-lanceolate, cottony and 

 sometimes silky beneath ; catkins usually naked, rarely on leafy shoots. 

 Some varieties occur in this species, differing in the form of the leaves, the 

 degree of cottony or silky down, and in the length of the style in the 

 flower. They have been termed ^S*. stuartidna, S. liniusa, and ^S*. glauca. The 

 Downy Mountain Willow is a somewhat large shrub, found in the Highland 

 mountains, especially those of Clova and Breadalbane. The leaves are 

 small, the u]3per surface of dark green, and in one form having sunken 

 veins, while in others the surface is even. The upper part of the leaf, 

 though more or less downy, is less densely so than the under part ; and in 

 the variety formerly described as S. glailca, the upper side is of beautiful 

 glaucous green, and under part white as snow, with a reddish midrib ; in 

 this form the leaves are about two inches long. The Stuart's Willow, or 

 Small-leaved Shaggy Willow, has leaves shaggy above and densely silky or 

 cottony beneath. The catkins appear in June and July. 



Group IX. ViMiNALES. — IJon: 



Stamens 2 ; capsules either sessile or on short stalks ; catkins nearly 

 sessile, with leaf -like bracts at the base, appearing at the same time as the 

 leaves. Trees with pliant branches. 



20. Common Osier {S. vimindlis). — Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, 



