TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 



57 



The accompanying illustration shows the beauty of the pistillate 

 catkins at maturity. The stalks of their capsules have length- 

 ened, and they are bursting that the cotton-tufted seeds may 

 escape. 



SHINING WILLOW. AMERICAN BAY WILLOW. 

 GLOSSY BROAD-LEAVED WILLOW. {Plate XJX.) 



Sdh'x liicida. 



FAMILY 



ii 'illow. 



SHAPE 

 Ki'f^uiar, bushy: 

 brunches, erect. 



HEIGHT RANGE 



\2-io/iet, N<-iv Kugliiiul to N.J. and 

 Kentucky and westward. 



TIME OF BLOOM 



April. May. 



Bark: dark brown ; sitiootli, or ;;liglitly scaly. Branclilets : yellowish or 

 green; smootli ; polished. Leaf-buds', yellowish ; ovate ; smooth. Stipules; 

 mostly persistent; small; oblong or cordate; falling late in the season. 

 Leaves: simple; alternate; with short, stout petioles, at most, half an inch 

 long; elliptical or lanceolate, with sharp-iiointed apex and narrowed or slightly 

 rounded base; finely and shari)ly serrate; dark green above, lighter below; 

 smooth; shiny on both sides; the midrib whitish and distinct. Cutkiiis : 

 short, with leafy bracts and terminating a sparingly leafy branch. Stamiiiale 

 ones : fluffy, with live or more stamens in each flower. I^istillate ones : long ; 

 dense. 



We have no more beautiful willow shrub than Salix lucida. 

 It is a native species. In the swamps or along the borders of 

 streams it appears to attract and hold the sunshine which makes 

 a gay shimmering upon its glossy leaves. 



About the catkins of the willows, — ihey are borne on different 

 plants ; and in the springtime we see many sorts of insects 

 darting in and out among them. They are busy seeking honey 

 and also performing the service of cross-fertilization. That so 

 many flowers grow in one inflorescence is a fact which must 

 always appeal to the sagacious insect. From twenty-five to 

 one hundred pods have been counted in a willow catkin. He 

 can therefore suck the honey and carry off the pollen with 

 much greater rapidity than he can when flowers are borne 

 singly. To save time, it must be remembered, is a most impor- 

 tant matter, for the more flowers that can be fertilized the 

 better it is for the tree. When the pollen is ripe it should then 

 be carried to another flower, otherwise it is liable to be injured 



