The Willows 



reddish bark. Leaves i to 3 inches long, oblong-obovate, acute 

 or blunt at apex, sparingly toothed or entire, dull green and 

 downy above, distinctly veined and pale blue or silvery, hairy 

 beneath; petioles short; stipules semi-cordate, acute, deciduous. 

 Flowers with leaves, sessile, erect, terminal; staminate silky 

 white, becoming golden; pistillate silky, with yellow stigmas 

 which spread in pairs. Fruits pubescent, beaked capsules; 

 stalk much longer than scale. Preferred habitat, dry soil or stream 

 borders. Distribution, throughout British America and south 

 to New Jersey, Nebraska and Utah. 



The Balsam Willow (S. balsamifera, Barr.) is dressed in 

 spring, like the Balm of Gilead, in young shoots that glisten in a 

 coating of balsam. The broad, ovate leaves are blunt at the 

 apex, and look scarcely willow-like, but the flowers and seed pods 

 maintain the family traditions and leave us no doubts. The 

 tree is found in the northern tier of states and ranges far north, 

 becoming a prostrate shrub. In its best estate it grows into a 

 long stem crowned with a small clump of branches bearing the 

 foliage. It is an inhabitant of cold bogs, and extends no farther 

 west than Minnesota. 



Golden Osier (Salix alba, Linn., var. vitellina) Venerable- 

 looking tree, with short trunk and regular, spreading top, 40 to 

 60 feet high. Twigs golden yellow. Bark grey, rough. Leaves 

 elliptical, sparingly serrate, tapering at both ends, 2 to 4 inches 

 long, silky hairy, becoming smooth; lining white and somewhat 

 hairy ; stipules ovate-lanceolate, deciduous ; petioles short. 

 Flowers with leaves; scales deciduous; stamens 2; stigmas sessile. 

 Fruits flask shaped, sessile, smooth capsules. Preferred habitat, 

 moist, rich soil. Distribution, eastern North America. 



This American derivative of the white willow of Europe 

 deserves mention among native trees. It is truly naturalised. 

 Its yellow twigs are its best identification. It is far more common 

 in cultivation than its parent, although the latter is occasionally 

 seen. This variety is one of the most vigorous and useful of all 

 the willows grown in this country. 



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