192 



The Willows 



thick; the young twigs are finely hairy, reddish or yellowish to brown, angular, 

 becoming smooth and shining brown; the winter buds are 4 to 6 mm. long and 

 smooth; the leaves are lanceolate, long-pointed, 8 to 15 cm. long, finely toothed, 

 at least the lower teeth glandular; the blades are dark green on the upper side, 

 pale green or whitish beneath, smooth on both surfaces, except when very young, 

 when they are finely silky; their stalks are 6 to 16 mm. long, and usually bear 

 one or more glands near the base of the blade; the stipules are glandular-toothed 

 and usually fall away while the leaves are unfolding. The catkins appear in April 

 or May on short leafy branches, and are from 2 to 7 cm. long, their axes hairy, 

 their bracts blunt, a little hairy; the staminate flowers have a very short-stalked, 

 smooth, narrowly ovoid ovary, the stigmas about as long as the very short style. 

 In fruit the pistillate catkins elongate to 1 2 cm. or less ; the capsules are narrowly 

 ovoid, short-stalked, 4 to 5 mm. long. 



The tree is also known as Redwood willow and Stag's-head willow; its wood is 

 salmon red, and used in Scotland for small boats. 



12. WHITE WILLOW Salix alba Linnaeus 



Salix vitellina Linnaeus 



The White willow, or Huntingdon willow, has long been naturalized in eastern 

 North America, introduced from Europe as a shade and ornamental tree, and it 

 now appears in many places as much at home as if it were indigenous, from Nova 

 Scotia and Ontario to North Carolina and Iowa, and occurs as far west as Idaho. 

 It grows largest in wet soil, though it does very well on uplands, and reaches a 

 maximum height of about 30 meters, with a trunk sometimes 2.5 meters thick. 

 The bark is gray to brown, rough and thick; the young twigs are yellowish 



green and finely hairy, becoming brown and 

 smooth or nearly so by the end of their first 

 season; the winter buds are narrowly ovoid 

 smooth, bluntish, 5 or 6 mm. long. The 

 lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate leaves are 5 to 

 13 cm. long, 8 to 16 mm. wide, finely glandu- 

 lar-toothed, usually long-pointed at the apex 

 and narrowed at the base, silky-hairy on both 

 sides at least when young, bright green on the 

 upper side, much paler or whitish beneath; 

 their stalks are 4 to 8 mm. long, sometimes 

 bearing a gland or two near the base of the 

 blade; the ovate-lanceolate stipules fall away 

 soon after the leaves unfold. The catkins 



. ,. appear in April or May on short leafy branch- 



FiG. 151. White Willow. 11 ^1 



lets, and are 3 to 6 cm. long, their bracts de- 

 ciduous; the staminate flowers (staminate trees are very rare in North America) 



