486 



BOTANY. 



Order Salicaceae. The Willow Family. Dioecious trees and shrubs 

 with naked flowers i.e., the perianth wanting. The species, of which 

 there are 180, are principally found in the North Temperate and 

 Arctic Zones ; beyond the tropics they are rare, and none occur in 



FIGS. 384-9. ILLUSTRATIONS op SALIX CAPRJEA. 



FIG. 386. FIG. 387. FIG. 



Fig. 384. Male cntkin and separate flower. 



Fig. 385. Female catkin. Fig. 386. Female flower. Magnified. 



Fig. 387. Cross-section of ovary. Magnified. 



Fig. 388. Ripe fruit and seed. Magnified. Fig. 389. Embryo. Magnified. 



Australia and the South Pacific Islands. They contain a bitter astrin 

 gent principle useful in medicine as a febrifuge. 



Two genera only are known. 



Salix verminalis, S. purpurea, 8. caprcea, and other species of the 

 Old World, are cultivated for basket-making. 



