THE WHITE WILLOW 



A FEW weeks after the Pussy Willow has held the centre of the stage in the play 

 of the changing seasons, the White Willow assumes the chief role. Throughout 

 the great range in which this species is abundant one can scarcely look in any 

 direction without seeing the landscape lighted up in a most wonderful fashion by the 

 yellow bloom of these beautiful trees. In the hill regions especially one can see them mark- 

 ing the water-courses for a long distance, in a way which is the despair of any human deco- 

 rator. In most parts of the country the more brilliantly colored pollen-bearing trees have 

 been planted by Nature or by man almost exclusively, so that the less conspicuous blossoms 

 of the seed-bearing forms are only rarely found. The catkins develop on the ends of the 

 young branches which bear also the partially-developed leaves. This results in the yellow 

 flowers being shown against a background of tender green foliage, which renders them 

 conspicuous for long distances and attracts the visits of hosts of bees and other flying 

 insects. . 



The White Willow is the largest of our common Willows, and very generally several 

 trees are found growing together in the characteristic fashion shown in the lower picture on 

 the plate. The branches for the most part project upward, and the bark of the trunk of 

 large trees is roughened by numerous coarse ridges and is of a dark-gray color. There are 

 a number of varieties of this species, the coloring of the twigs and leaves varying somewhat 

 according to the variety. As the young leaves develop they are generally sparsely clothed 

 with silken hairs on both surfaces, many of these hairs remaining upon the under surface. 



The species is supposed to be a native of Europe, apparently having been introduced 

 into America very early in its modern history. It is easily propagated from cuttings and 

 is of great value for ornamental planting. The tree most commonly seen is the Golden 

 Osier Willow known technically as Salix alba variety vitellina. It is especially notable 

 for the golden yellow of its twigs, rendering it a beautiful plant for winter hedge-row 

 effects. 



Very few introduced trees have become so thoroughly naturalized as has the White 

 Willow. The ability of the broken twigs to take root along the water courses is doubtless 

 an important reason for this result. 



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