246 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



SALICACEAE. WILLOW FAMILY. 



A large family of trees and shrubs, mostly inhabiting cold 

 climates. Leaves alternate, simple, undivided, and furnished 

 with stipules which are scale-like and deciduous, or leaf-like and 

 persistent. Flowers, dioecious, both kinds in catkins, one under 

 each bract or scale of the catkin, without calyx or corolla; in 

 some cases the calyx is represented by a gland-like cup; ovary 

 one or two-celled. Fruit a one or two-celled, two-valved pod, 

 with numerous seeds attached to a parietal or basal placenta, 

 ripening in early summer and furnished with long, silky down. 



Genus SAI/IX. 



Leaves generally narrow, long and pointed. Flowers appear 

 before or with the leaves, in terminal or lateral, cylindrical, 

 imbricated, generally erect catkins; two or more distinct or 

 united stamens; stigmas two, short. Fruit a one-celled two- 

 valved pod. Trees or shrubs with smooth round branches, usu- 

 ally found growing in moist land. A large and valuable genus 

 of over 160 species, the greater number belonging to Europe and 

 Asia. About sixty species belong to North America. A dwarf 

 willow is found growing the farthest north of any shrub. Only 

 two tree-like species are indigenous within our range, but there 

 are several foreign kinds mentioned here that are of much value 

 for cultivation in this climate. 



Propagation. The wijlows increase readily from cuttings, and 

 are seldom grown in any other way. The cuttings grow readily 

 at almost any season of the year, provided they are put in moist 

 soil. Even in midsummer cuttings of firm wood a half inch or 

 more in diameter will grow readily if planted in moist soil, but 

 the best time to make cuttings is in the fall or spring, when wood 

 of any age or size will root if properly planted. Some of the 

 weeping varieties are grown by top-working in upright stocks. 



Uses. The bark of the trees of all species of Salix with bitter 

 bark yields salicylic acid, which is now used medicinally in the 

 treatment of typhoid fever, gout and rheumatism. During the 

 Civil War ground willow bark was used in the treatment of 

 fevers in some of the Southern hospitals when quinine could not 



