WILLOW-HEKB TRIBE 3 



rangulai^ in form, opening hy four valves, and if when ripe it be carefully 

 opened on one side, the seeds with their silky appendages burst from their 

 prison. 



This and some other of the species are well fitted for planting in 

 shrubberies, as they are uninjured by the shade and frequent dripping of 

 trees, and they thrive well in city gardens, unhurt by smoke. The leaves 

 and stems of the Bay Willow afford a decoction, which is said to cause 

 intoxication, and it is added to the fermented drink which the Kamtschatdales 

 procure from the cow-parsnip. The pith has, when dried, a sweet flavour, 

 and both ale and vinegar are commonly made from it in the north of Europe ; 

 while the young shoots both of this and some other species are, when 

 dressed, a good and wholesome substitute for asparagus. Gloats are said to 

 be very fond of the plant, and both cows and sheep will eat it. The wool of 

 the seeds, mixed with fur or down, has been manufactured into stockings, 

 and into some kind of fabric intended for dresses, but this was too fragile to 

 be of much use. The French call the Willow-herb, L'Epilohe a Spi and Osier 

 Fleiiri, and the Germans, Der- JFeiderich. Its name among the Tartars is 

 Karamuk, and the Russians term it Xipree. 



* * Flowers regular ; stamens and styles erect ; stigmas i-cleft. 



2. Great Hairy ^Villow-herb {E. hirsutum). — Leaves partly clasping 



the stem, narrow, oblong, serrated, downy ; stem downy, much branched ; 



root creeping. Plant perennial. Our stream-sides, beautiful as they ever 



are with their rich verdure and. many flowers, receive an additional ornament 



when, during July and August, this Willow-herb grows there in profusion, 



Most of the rills which trickle among our green meadows, and the streams 



and rivers which wind their silvery way, as well as the stagnant ditches, can 



then boast this ornament in more or less abundance. Often the purple 



blossom waving at a distance, on a hot summer's day, invites the wanderer 



to some cool sequestered spot, where he may feel as Chaucer did in such a 



scene : — 



"And the river which that I sate upon, 

 It maden siche a noise as it ron, 

 Accordant with the birdis arniony, 

 Methoiight it was the best melody 

 That mighten bin y' hearde of any man." 



The stems of this Willow-herb are much branched, so that the plant has 

 somewhat the appearance of a shrub. The foliage, like most downy foliage, 

 is of a greyish-green tint, and the large blossoms are reddish-purple. They 

 have a very pleasant odour, like that of cooked fruit, hence a common 

 country name for the flower is "codlins and cream." It never grows on a 

 dry soil, but on river-brinks, and the sides of ditches. 



3. Small-flowered Hairy ^Villow-herb (F. parvifl&rum). — Leaves 

 sessile, lance-shaped, downy, and toothed ; stem nearly unbranched, generally 

 downy, but sometimes smooth. Plant perennial. This species has flowers 

 of less size than the last, and is altogether a smaller plant ; it is easily dis- 

 tinguished from it by its stem being branched only at the upper part ; its 

 stolons, too, afford a marked character, as they are not nearly so fleshy. It 



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