WILLOWS 



Sir Joseph Hooker called Salix a "troublesome genus" since it embraces 

 so many kinds of willows and they fertilize so much among each other that 

 the botanist is hard put to distinguish between them. About 170 species 

 have been recognized, and there are an endless number of varieties, of wide 

 range in all parts of the world. The name willow, from the early English 

 word welig, refers to the flexibility of the young branches. 



The willow is so meek and humble in its habits that it has been called the 

 Cinderella of trees. It has long been considered the symbol of unrequited 

 love and was spoken of by Fuller as "A sad tree, whereof such as have lost 

 their love make their mourning garlands." Shakespeare portrays Dido, Queen 

 of Carthage, when forsaken by Aeneas as standing with a willow in her hand 

 to waft her love to come again to Carthage. 



The association of the willow with grief probably had its origin at the 

 time the Psalmist recorded that the Hebrews hung their harps upon the willows 

 and wept by the rivers of Babylon. Even to those who have not been in- 

 fluenced by Biblical tradition the willow has been a symbol of sorrow. Torches 

 made of willow were used by the ancients at funerals, and "to wear the willow" 

 was an outward symbol of grief. The Druids are stated to have burned their 

 human sacrifices in wicker cages. 



Willows are rapid growers, but usually short lived. They are generally 

 found along streams and spring up so abundantly that they quickly take 

 possession of localities suited to them. The children of Israel were promised 

 to be multiplied like "willows by the water courses." A few of the willows 

 are large-sized trees, and grace proud estates with their beauty. Others are 

 shrub-like and serve a humble capacity of clothing the waste places of the 

 earth. 



The willows belong to the lowest order of deciduous broad-leaved trees, 

 and fossils show that they were of the earliest groups of plants that flourished 

 when the earth was young. It is probable that they owe their survival to their 

 tenacity of life since they never overlook an opportunity to gain a foothold. 

 A small section of willow twig containing a bud, or a piece of a root, when 

 covered by moist soil, takes root and rapidly develops into a shrub or tree. 

 Willow stumps send up multitudes of shoots which are often a great nuisance 



(ill) 



