CATKIN-BEAIMNU TKIBE 167 



less downy, very downy beneath, blunt with a small hooked point ; stipules 

 roundish ; style very short. This, too, is a common Sallow in our moist 

 Avoods and thickets; and Mr. Borrcr observes, that "it is one of the least 

 equivocal species." Its large-stalked stipules and its foliage, blistered like a 

 cabbage-leaf, form a marked character, although its leaves vary in size, and 

 in the form of the outline. It sometimes becomes a bushy tree, but is more 

 commonly a shrub, about three or four feet high, having branches wdiich 

 trail to a great length along the ground, and entangle themselves among the 

 neighbouring bushes. The leaves are on short downy footstalks, and are one 

 or two inches long, and more or less contracted towards the base ; the upper 

 side is of dark green, the under paler and somewhat glaucous. 



Group XL Phylicifoli^, Nigricantes, and Bicolores. — Borr. 



Stamens 2 ; capsules stalked ; style long ; catkins lateral and sessile, or 

 on short bracteated stalks ; leaves toothed or serrated ; stipules with glands 

 inside, or at the base. Shrubs or small trees. 



29. Dark-leaved. Sallow {S. nigricans). — Young shoots thickly downy 

 or hairy towards the summit ; leaves usually dull green, glaucous beneath, 

 and becoming black when dry. Several varieties of this Willow^, diftering 

 in having prostr'ate or erect stems, in the downiness of the branches, in the 

 smoothness or silkiness of the ovaries, and somewhat in the outline of the 

 leaf, have been descril^ed as S. cotinifolia, S. fordcridna, S. rupcstm, S. hirfa, 

 S. aiulersuniana, S. damascena, or S. jietrcea. Sii' William Hooker and 

 Dr. Arnott remark that there are, besides, numerous intermediate forms in 

 this most variable species of Willow ; but add, that in all native specimens, 

 whether cultivated or w^ild, the foliage constantly turns black when pressed 

 and dried, however carefully done. 



The Dark-leaved Willow is a large bushy shrub, scarcely ever attaining 

 the height or form of a tree. Its branches are round and usually rather 

 brittle, except in the variety with trailing stems, sometimes termed S. rupestris, 

 in which the branches are tough. The catkins appear in April. The plant 

 is not one of our useful or ornamental Willows. It is common on mountains, 

 chiefly in the north of England and Scotland, and grows also in osier-grounds, 

 and on riversides and moist lands. 



30. Intermediate Willow (.S', laurina). — Young shoots and leaves 

 densely downy or hairy tow'ards the summit ; leaves finally becoming smooth, 

 glaucous beneath, dull green above ; after drying, the young ones only 

 becoming sometimes slightly black. Several forms of this species occur, 

 differing in the degree of hairiness of the ovaries, and the shape and hairi- 

 ness of the leaves. These have been described as S. jjropinqua, S. fchwior, 

 S. hicolor, or S. tenuifdlia. This Willow has much the same dull appearance 

 as the last, and its leaves are thin. It is a shrub, or sometimes a small tree, 

 occurring in woods and thickets, or by riversides, in several parts of the 

 kingdom, especially in England. 



31. Tea-leaved Willow (*S'. |;/i^fc/(iHa). — Leaves and shoots soon 

 quite smooth, the latter dark green, rigid, glossy above and glaucous beneath, 

 not black when dried ; stigmas entire or 2-cleft. This Willow is, in each of 



