PURPLE BASKET WILLOW 281 



are very deciduous. The mature shoots have a smooth, yellowish gray bark 

 and possess a number of appressed, obtuse ,and generally glossy and occa- 

 sionally red buds. The inner bark of the young twigs, especially during fall 

 and winter, is orange yellow but toward the top becomes red. In poor soil 

 and particularly in sandy soil the shoots have a yellowish color. 



The catkins ajjpear earlier than the leaves and are sessile, cylindrical 

 and densely flowered. The male catkins at first appear purplish red, but 

 during pollination become golden yellow, and after blooming brownish black. 

 They are from half to two inches in length and about half inch in diameter. 

 The bracts at the base of the catkins are small and leaflike. The small, 

 round, concave scales are black in the upper half of the catkins and covered 

 with hair; at the base they are red. The male flowers have a single stamen 

 which is drooping and is formed by the union of the two filaments and 

 anthers. The female catkins are purplish red ; the fruit pods are densely 

 tomentose and contain a single upright ovule. The empty cells of the brownish 

 capsule recurve very strongly. 



Willows are subject to considerable variation. The size, shape and surface 

 of the leaves, their serratures, and the general characters and qualities of the 

 rods vary greatly, depending upon soil and climatic conditions. The purple 

 willow may be considered as a mean around which all its varieties are grouped. 

 The constancy of these varieties is dependent upon the conditions which 

 originally brought about the variations; when external conditions change, 

 either those of soil fertility or soil moisture, changes in the character of the 

 plant again take place, and the variety either reverts toward the mean, or, in 

 its struggle to adjust itself to new conditions, gives rise to characters still 

 more remote from the original form. 



Hybrids are raised from different species and are generally considered 

 not susceptible of propagation by seed. The terms hybrid, blend and bastard 

 are limited to forms produced by cross fertilization. Some of the most 

 important basket willows have been obtained in this way. 



VARIETIES OP THE PURPLE WILLOW 



The purple willow occurs in a great number of varieties which are more 

 or less useful. The better ones yield the bulk of the rods used in the manu- 

 facture of wicker ware. They produce very thin, flexible, slender, cylindrical, 

 and branchless rods. In Germany the twigs used for binding the vines 

 are produced by varieties of this species. In selecting varieties for planting 

 the kind of material furnished by them must be kept in view, since different 

 varieties often differ very greatly. A number of them are good and persistent 

 producers while others do not yield a full crop until the fourth year and 

 diminish again after a few years. 



The following varieties are recognized as the most important ones in this 

 group : 



tSalix helix Smith (not L.). Rose willow; longleaf purple willow; 

 green stone willow. Noethlichs, a German authority, gives a very favorable 

 report concerning this variety and claims that there are two sub-varieties of 

 this which are underscribed. The one has greenish-gray bark turning dark- 

 green during the winter, while the other has pale rose-colored bark near the 

 top of the shoots which are exceedingly slender, and its wood is heavier than 

 of any other variety. The bark is rich in salicin and in Europe is also used 

 for the production of tannin and coloring matter. This willow does not require 

 a very rch soil and yet produces numerous long and slender rods. 



Salix lamhertiana Smith. Lambert's willow. This is a large-leaved 

 variety with very beautiful catkins. It is the tallest among the purple willows 



