LXVIII. SALICA^CEM : ^JA^LIX. 



777 



The Sexes. Both sexes are figured in Sal. Wob., and both in Hayne Abbild. 



Engravings. Hofftn. Sal., t. 3. f. 1, 2. t. 21. f. a. b. c. ; Eng. Bo'.., t. 1488. ; Sal. Wob., No. 122. ; 



onr fig. 1467., from the Sal. Wob. ; and^o'. 1468. representing the male, axiA fig. 1409. the female, 



both from Host's Sal. Ausl., t. 66, 67. ; and fig. 122. in p. 814. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Stem erect. Leaves roundish-ovate, pointed, serrated, 

 waved ; pale and downy beneath. Stipules somewhat crescent-shaped. 

 Catkins oval. Ovary stalked, ovate, silky. Stigmas nearly sessile, and 

 undivided. Capsules swelling. (Smith.) A moderate-sized tree, with 

 spreading, round, brown or purplish branches, minutely downy when young. 

 Britain, in woods and dry pastures, common. Height 15 ft. to 30 Ft. 

 Flowers yellow, ve.-'y showy ; April and May. 



Leaves larger and 

 broader than in any 

 other of the genus ; of 

 a deep green above, with 

 a downy rib ; white un- 

 derneath, or rather glau- 

 cous, and veiny, densely 

 clothed with soft, white, 

 cottony down; generally 

 broadly ovate, approach- 

 ing to orbicular, with 

 a sharp point ; some- 

 times more elliptical ; 

 either rounded or slightly 

 heart-shaped at the base; ;y^:w 

 varying in length from 

 2 in. to 3 in. ; the margin 

 wavy, and more or less 

 strongly serrated. Foot- 

 stalks stout, downy. Cat- 

 kins numerous, much 

 earlier than the foliage, 

 and almost sessile. This 

 tree. Sir W. J. Hooker 

 observes, "distinguishes 

 itself, in the spring, by 

 being loaded with hand- 

 some yellow blossoms before any of its leaves appear. The flowering 

 branches of this species are called palms, and are gathered by children on 

 Easter Sunday ; the relics of the Catholic ceremony formerly performed in 

 commemoration of the entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem. 



.^98. S. SPHACELA^TA Smith (Eng. Bot., t. 2333. ; Sal. Wob., No. 12L; 

 and^g. 12L in p. 813.) is described in our first ecUtion. 



Group xvii. Nigricantes Borrer. 



Shrubs with long Branches, or small Trees. Mostly Sallows. Prin. sp. 105. 



109. 111. and 122. 



1469. S, caprea, female. 



A group as difficult to define as are the kinds of which it is constituted. 



Stamens 2 to a flower. Ovary stalked, glabrous or silky. Style more or 

 ; less 2-cleft. In leaves, many of this kind approach those of the group 



Cinereae very nearly, having ovate or obovate ones ; but the leaves are less 

 ! wrinkled. Plants shrubs with long branches, or small trees. {Hook.) The 



