90 



BLACK WILLOW. 



Salix nigra, Marshall. 



FOEM Largest of our native tree-willows, usually 25-30 ft. high with a diameter of 10-20 

 Inches, but may reach a height of 60-80 ft., with a diameter of 2-3 feet. Trunks usually crooked, 

 often inclined and occurring in small groups. Crown wide, open and round-topped. 



BARE Thick, rough, deeply furrowed, blackish-brown, with wide ridges covered with thick 

 scales. Ridges of bark often connected by narrow, transverse or diagonal ridges. 



TWIGS Slender, smooth, brittle, drooping, bright reddish-brown to orange colored. 



BUDS Alternate, small, about J of an inch long, sharp-pointed, reddish -brown, covered by 

 a single scale. 



LEAVES Alternate, simple, narrowly-lanceolate, very long -pointed, tapering or slightly rounded 

 at base, finely serrate on margin, usually smooth and dark green above, pale green below. 



LEAF-SCARS Alternate, narrow, with 3 bundle-scars in a lunate line. Terminal scar often 

 larger than lateral ones. Stipule-scars large and prominent. 



FLOWERS Appear in March or April before the leaves. Staminate and pistillate flowers oc- 

 cur on separate trees, and both are borne in drooping aments or catkins from 1-3 inches long. 



FRUIT A reddish-brown, smooth, ovate capsule which splits open and liberates many small 

 seeds. Seeds cohered with a dense tuft of fine long hairs. 



WOOD Diffuse-porous; with very inconspicuous medullary rays; reddish-brown, soft, weak, 

 firm, close-grained, not durable. Weighs about 28 Ibs. per cubic foot. Used mainly for fuel and 

 charcoal.. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Black Willow is the largest of our native Wil- 

 lows. The rough thick-scaled, blackish-brown bark is characteristic. The narrowly -lanceolate 

 and short-petioled leaves which are always smooth or nearly so are also distinctive. The trunks 

 often occur in small groups. The slender drooping branches are easily broken off at their ends. 



RANGE New Brunswick to Florida, west to Dakota, Kansas, southern Arizona and central 

 California. 



DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA Throughout the State. Most common in eastern and 

 southern parts. 



HABITAT Prefers moist or wet situations like banks of streams and lakes. Requires plenty of 

 light. Occasionally found on moist, gravelly and sandy soil. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES The Black Willow is the largest tree-willow native to our 



flora and is very conspicuous in its appearance. It is of no present or prospective value except 



as a soil conserver and to a limited extent as a producer of fuel wood and charcoal. Other 

 more valuable and more attractive trees should be grown in place of it. 



