430 SALICACE^E. (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; stvle 

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

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

 1'- 2' long 



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

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

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

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

 bracts villous ; style conspicuous ; ovary slender. ( S. conifera, Muhl. S. Muh- 

 lenbergiana, Wittd.) 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, serrate 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, Purs/i, and north- 

 ward. April. Shrub 8 -10 high. Leaves 2' -4' long. Aments !'-!' 

 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 serrate, rounded at the base, the petioles pubescent ; 

 stipules small, caducous ; fruiting 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 when young, becoming smoothish and green on both surfaces ; 

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

 arnents 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' 



