OKDEK CXIII. BETULACE^E BIKCH-FAMILY. ORDER CXIV. SALICACEJE WILLOW-TRIBE. 



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2. COMPT6NIA. 



Flowers monoecious. Barren flowers in cylindrical aments ; 

 bracts reniform, cordate, acuminate; stamens 3 6. Fertile 

 flowers iu globular aments; calyx-scales 5 6, subulate, sur- 

 rounding the ovary. Styles 2. Nut ovoid, smooth, 1-celled, 

 Shrubs. 



1. C. asplenifolia. Sweet Fern. 



Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, pinnatifid with rounded segments, thin, 

 dark-green, numerous, on short petioles, fragrant ; stipules semi-cordate, in 

 pairs, acuminate; barren aments erect, oblong; fertile, rounded burrs, situated 

 beneath the barren ; nut ovate, brown. A low shrub, 1 3 ft high, in dry 

 wooiis and and hill-sides. The bark is dark brown, and the young branches 

 are whitish pubescent. The fragrant leaves which follow the flowers some- 

 what resemble those of Ferns. April May. 



ORDER CXIII. Betulacese. Birch-family. 



1. BfiTULA. 



Barren flowers in cylindric aments, each bract with 3 flowers, 

 each flower consisting of 4 stamens, and a calyx of 1 scale. Fer- 

 tile flowers in oblong-ovoid aments, 3 to each bract, with no calyx, 

 each consisting of an ovary with 2 filiform stigmas. Fruit com- 

 pressed and membraneous on the margin. Trees. 



1. B. lenta. 



Black Birch. 



Leaves ovate, serrate, cordate at base, acuminate, hairy on the veins be- 

 neath, as also the petioles ; fertile ainents oval, erect, somewhat hairy ; lobes of 

 the scales obtuse. A fine tree of rather large size, common in forests. The 

 young branches are dark brown, nnd the inner bark has a pleasant, aromatic 

 flavor. The bark of the trunk is dark brown, and the timber has a reddish 

 tinge, and is used for cabinet-work. April May. 



2. B. excelsa. 



Yellow Birch. 



Leaves ovate, acute, tapering, but generally cordate at base, more or less 

 smooth, thin, unequally, coarsely and sharply serrate ; fertile aments oblong- 

 ovoid, erect; lobes of the calyx acute. A tall forest tree, most common in the 

 northern districts of N. Eng. and N. York. The young shoots are yellowish, 

 and somewhat aromatic, but less so than in the last The trunk is covered 

 with a thin, yellowish, silvery bark. April May. 



3. B. papyracea. Paper Birch. 



Leaves ovate, acuminate, mostly cordate or obtuse at base, doubly serrate, 

 dark green and smooth above, hairy on the veins beneath. A larae tree, almost 

 confined to the northern parts of N. Eng. and N. York. The white, tough bark 

 separates from the trunk in thin layers. April May. 



4. B. populifolia. 



White Birch. 



Leaves deltoid, with a very long acuminate point, truncate or hearted at base, 

 smooth, and of a bright, shining green on both sides. A very slender and grace- 

 ful tree, common in rocky and hilly woods and thickets. The white bark rea- 

 dily separates from the trunk, but much less than in the last The branches are 

 very slender, dark brown, short and numerous. April May. 



2. ALNUS. 



Barren flowers in long, cylindrical, nodding aments ; scales 3- 

 lobed, 3-flowered ; flowers with a 4-parted calyx and 4 stamens. 

 Fertile flowers in ovoid aments ; bracts fleshy, 2-flowered, 3-lobed; 

 calyx-scales 4, minute, cohering with the other scales of the 

 ament; all persistent. Shrubs. 



1. A. incana. 



Hoary Alder. 



Leaves broad -oval or ovate, somewhat cordate at base, sharply serrate, some- 

 times coarsely toothed, mostly white-downy underneath ; stipules oblong-lan- 

 ceolate ; fertile aments oval ; fruit orbicular. A common shrub, 815 ft high, 

 in thickets, along streams, and in low grounds. N. Eng., northward. March 



-April. 



2. A. serrulata. 



Common Alder. 



Leaves obovate, acuminate, tapering at base, sharply and finely serrate, 

 smooth and green on both sides, somewhat pubescent on the veins beneath ; fer- 

 tile aments oblong-oval ; fruit ovate. A very common shrub, 615 ft. high, in 

 low grounds and along streams, from N. Eng. southward. The barren aments 

 appear long before the leaves. March April. 



ORDER CXIV. Salicacese. Willow-tribe. 



1. SlLIX. 



Aments cylindric; bracts entire, 1-flowered. Barren flowers 

 calyx none ; stamens 2 8, rarely 1, accompanied by glands. 

 Fertile flowers each with a gland at base ; ovary simple ; stigmas 

 2, short, mostly bifid. Shrubs and trees. 



* Aments lateral, appearing before the leaves. 



1. S. tristis. Sage Willow. 



Leaves nearly sessile, narrow-lanceolate, cuneate at base, acute or obtuse, en- 

 tire or obscurely toothed, woolly on both sides, at last nearly smooth ; stipules 

 minute, disappearing very early ; aments small, nearly globular when young, 

 loosely flowered ; ovaries tapering to a long point, silky-pubescent ; style short ; 

 stigmas bifid. A common straggling shrub, very branching, of a dull grayish 

 aspect, with gray-downy branches. Stern 10' 18' high. Common in dry woods 

 and fields. The leaves vary according to the soil, being sometimes very small 

 and rigid. April May. 



2. S. humilis. Low Bush Willow. 



Leaves lanceolate or oblanceolate, abruptly acute or obtuse, petiolate, nearly 

 or quite entire, nearly smooth above, more or less pubescent beneath ; stipules 

 usually present, varying from half-ovate to lunate, entire or dentate; style 

 long ; stigma bifid. A species equally common with the last, which it much re- 

 sembles, but is distinguished by its ionger-petiolatc, stipulate leaves and mostly 

 smooth branches. Stem 3 S ft. high. April May. 



3. S. discolor. Bog Willow. 



Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute, entire at apex, unequally 

 toothed in the middle, somewhat glaucous beneath ; stipules half-lunate, den 

 tate ; aments large ; scales very downy, oblanceolate, acutish, black, very densely 

 and softly pubescent. A shrub or small tree, 6 15 ft. high, common in swamps 

 and low grounds. The young branches are brownish-red, and the young leaves 

 more or less pubescent, but at length they are smooth and glaucous beneath. 

 April May. 



4. S. eriocephala. Woolly Swamp- Willow. 



Leaves oblong-elliptical, tapering, sometimes rounded at base, with a few 

 remote, unequal teeth, pubescent on both sides when young, at length green 

 and smooth above, covered below with whitish or rusty pubescence ; stipules 

 half-lunate, dentate ; aments large, densely flowered, densely clothed with long 

 hairs ; ovary on a rather long pedicel, downy. Distinguished from the last 

 which it resembles, by its dense, far more woolly aments, its pubescent branch- 

 lets, and, when in leaf, by the more pubescent leaves. Stem 615 ft. high. 

 Common in swamps. April. 



* * Aments appearing with a few minute leaves at base. 



5. S. sericea. 



Silky-leaved Willow. 



Branchlets very slender and brittle at base, mostly purplish ; leaves lanceo- 

 late, acuminate, finely and equally serrate, nearly or quite smooth above, silky- 

 pubescent beneath ; stipules deciduous ; barren aments small ; fertile densely 

 flowered ; ovary grayish-silky, ovoidj on a pedicel as long as the rounded, ob- 

 tuse scale. A common species in wet grounds, 6 10 ft. high, distinguished by 

 its narrow leaves, white-silky beneath, which turn black in drying, and by its 

 slender, purplish branches very brittle at base. April May. 



6. S. petiolaris. 



Branchlets long and slender, usually somewhat brittle at base; leaves lan- 

 ceolate, acuminate, finely and evenly serrate, smooth above, somewhat silky 

 beneath when young, finely smooth and glaucous ; fertile aments loosely-fiow- 

 ered, broader and not so slender as in the last; scales very hairy, scarcely equal- 

 ing the pedicels of the acuminate, silky ovary. A shrub resembling the last, 6 

 12 ft high, distinguished by its full-grown leaves, which are smooth beneath, 

 and its branches, which are purplish or yellowish-green, less slender and straight 

 and less brittle at base, than in the last April May. 



7. S. viminalis. 



Osier. Basket Willow. 



Branchlets very long, straight and slender ; leaves linear-lanceolate, very 

 long-acuminate, nearly entire, white beneath, with silky pubescence ; aments 

 densely clothed with long hairs ; ovary elongated ; style filiform ; stigmas li- 

 near. Cultivated in some districts, and naturalized in wet meadows. A large 

 shrub, 1015 ft high, with very long, flexible branches, used for basket-work. 

 The leaves are 3' 6' long. May. 



