THE WILLOW FAMILY. SALICACE^ 



WHILE these are usually spoken of as the willow family, they 

 include both the willows and poplars. They comprise not 

 only trees but many of our commonest shrubs, and are present 

 almost everywhere. All members of this family have soft 

 wood, grow very quickly, and lose their leaves every fall. The 

 flowers are in clusters called catkins, which in many ways 

 resemble the cones of the pines and spruces. 



The catkin consists of a short piece of stem covered with 

 small overlapping scales. In the axil of each scale is either a 

 clump of stamens or a small two-celled ovary raised on a very 

 short stalk. Those catkins which have stamens have no ovaries, 

 so they can produce no seed and are called sterile. The cat- 

 kins having ovaries are called fertile because they do produce 

 seed. When the small seed pod ripens it splits open and dis- 

 charges a large number of seeds, each provided with. a tuft 

 of silky hairs on which it is carried off by the wind. 



There are .few trees more used by man than these. They 

 are easily propagated by cuttings and grow rapidly, making 

 them particularly valuable in securing quick results in park or 

 garden planting. Where other trees are plentiful and grow 

 easily the value of the poplars and willows is often overlooked, 

 but on the prairie they are invaluable. They grow readily 

 where tree growing is difficult, and wind-breaks or ornamental 

 clumps may be provided on the open prairie in a surprisingly 

 short time, owing to their rapid growth. They form the 

 greater part of the natural groves and forests across the prairies, 

 and without them the so-called treeless plains would be treeless 

 indeed. 



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