CHAPTER X 



The Willows and Poplars 



The willows and poplars, which constitute a separate family and 

 order of plants, are characterized by a number of well marked 

 morphological features. They have soft hght wood, astringent 

 bark, watery sap, scaly buds and deciduous leaves — short stalked 

 in the willows, long stalked in the poplars — arranged alternately 

 and with stipules. The flowers are in the form of catkins which 

 bloom in the early spring in advance of the unfolding of the leaves. 

 These catkins are generally upright in the willows and pendulous 

 in the poplars, and the male and female are borne on different 

 plants. The seeds, which are tufted with silky or cottony hairs, 

 are formed in one celled, two to four valved capsules, and are 

 dispersed by the winds. 



By reason of their rapidity of growth, tolerance of moisture 

 (the name Salix is said to be derived from the Celtic sal = near and 

 /w = water) and their great adaptability to all kinds of soils they 

 occur in a variety of situations and the different members of the 

 family are found from the north polar region to the equator and 

 beyond. They are gregarious because of the ease with which they 

 grow from suckers and sprouts, their great vitality and free forma- 

 tion of shoots and seeds. About the only inimical condition that 

 proves fatal is shade, of which they are very intolerant, hence in 

 the natural growth of the forest they tend to become replaced by 

 slower growing trees which eventually overtop them. Thus in 

 time they become restricted (especially the willows) to river bars, 

 mud banks, peat bogs, mountain tops and similar unfavorable situa- 

 tions. Both willows and poplars are very fast growers and both 

 are relatively short lived. The majority are not tall trees and the 

 seeds quickly lose their vitality and the trees are much damaged 

 by winds because of their brittle wood. 



The willows are far more diversified and more widely distributed 

 than the poplars, and the facility with which hybrids are formed 



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