WILLOW 47 



The male flowers consist of a very short stem bearing two 

 stamens. These have long stalks, and the yellow anthers project 

 freely from the catkin and make it conspicuous. There is no 

 trace of either calyx or corolla, but at the base of the stamens 

 on the side next the main stem of the catkin is a small yellowish 

 scale. This is the nectary, and, simple as the flower is, nectar 

 is secreted in abundance and serves as an attraction to 

 insects. 



The female flowers are equally simple, and also have a nectary 

 in the same position as in the male flowers. The flower consists 

 simply of the pistil. This has a short stalk which widens out into 

 the green ovary. The ovary tapers gradually into the style, 

 which bears a two-lobed stigma. As this indicates, the pistil is 

 formed of two carpels, which are joined together by their margins 

 to enclose a single cavity. On the inner surface of the wall of this 

 are a number of ovules attached in two rows, corresponding to the 

 lines of j unction of the carpels. 



The flowers are abundantly visited by insects, which come in 

 search of nectar or of pollen from the male catkins. These are 

 very conspicuous on the bare twigs, and the early period of the 

 year at which the flowers open leads to many insects devoting 

 their attention almost entirely to them. The long list of visitors 

 includes bees by day and moths by night. Every collector of moths 

 knows what a useful hunting ground the neighbourhood of Sallows 

 in flower is. On visiting a male tree the insects will become 

 dusted with pollen, which will be transferred to the stigmas when 

 the female catkins are visited. The separation of the flowers 

 on distinct trees makes self-pollination impossible, so that the 

 efficiency of the insect pollination is shown by the number of 

 fruits set in nearly every catkin. 



After the catkins have developed and pollination is over the 

 terminal bud of the twig and some of the lateral buds grow out as 

 vegetative shoots. The stem of the shoot in its first year is 

 cylindrical, and the surface is downy owing to a covering of short 

 hairs. The leaves, attached singly at the nodes, have a wide 

 sheathing base, to either side of which a large green stipule is 

 usually developed. The short but distinct leaf-stalk widens into 

 the simple oval leaf-blade, which has usually a pointed tip. The 



