CLASS XXII. ORDER J, ] SALIX. 1237 
Habitat—Low meadows, moist hedges, and osier grounds in 
various parts of England; Collington Woods, Edinburgh. 
Tree; flowering in May. 
This is often cultivated in osier grounds, and when cut down pro- 
ducing for a few years shoots from six to eight feet long; but it is 
said in a few years these gradually become shorter, and consequently 
it is less worth cultivating than many other species. It is often mis- 
taken for the followiug species. 
13 S. fra'gilis, Linn. (Fig. 1487.) Crack Willow. Stamens two ; 
catkins on leafy stalks; capsules oblong, ovate, smooth, stalked ; 
style short ; stigmas bifid, spreading; scales oblong, pubescent, and 
much ciliated ; leaves ovate lanceolate, acute, serrated, smooth; foot- 
stalks somewhat glandular; stipules half heart-shaped, strongly 
serrated. 
English Botany, t. 1807.—English Flora, vol. iv. p. 184.—Salict. 
Wob. p. 53. t. 27.—Hooker, Sragh Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 358.— 
Lindley, Synopsis, p. 230. 
“A tall bushy headed tree, whose branches are set on eee ie 
somewhat crossing each other, not continued in a straight line, by 
which it may be readily distinguished in the winter. They are 
round, very smooth, with a brown polished bark, and so brittle at 
the base in spring, that with the slightest blow they start from the 
trunk.’—Smith. Leaves ovate lanceolate, taper pointed, very smooth, 
except when young, of a dark shining green, paler beneath, the foot- 
stalks channeled, and mostly with several glands at the top. Stipules 
half heart-shaped, strongly serrated or toothed. Catkins on lateral 
leafy branchlets, cylindrical, obtuse, about two inches long. Scales 
oblong, concave, very pubescent, and copiously ciliated on the 
margin. Stamens two to five. Capsules nearly sessile, oblong, 
ovate, smooth, somewhat compressed. Style short, with deeply 
divided spreading stigmas. 
Habitat—Banks of rivers and marshy places; common. 
Tree ; flowering in April and May. 
The wood of this species, from its being so brittle, is of little value, 
and, according to Smith, the medical virtues attributed to it belong to 
the following species. It is a native of Sweden, where the root, 
boiled for a considerable time, is said to serve the country people for 
staining eggs of a purple colour. The practice of making presents to 
friends at Easter of coloured eggs is of ancient date ; it is still con 
tinued in Scotland, and in the North of England; and we have 
observed at the period of this festival great numbers of eggs, stained 
of different colours, exhibited for sale in the shops in various parts of 
Italy. 
Arranged under this group is the S. Babylonica, or Weeping 
Willow, so called from its growing near Babylon. It is a native of 
