TORREYA 



February, 1913. 

 Vol. 13 No. 2 



SOME TREES AND SHRUBS OF ROCKLAND COUNTY* 



By Elsie M. Kittredce 



When the branches of the willows begin to show the "pussies" 

 we are certain the winter will soon be over. I have found lovely 

 pussies in January, but they usually appear in the latter part of 

 February. During the weary days of wind and rain that we 

 know, and dread, as March weather, they are growing, but so 

 slowly we notice no change, until suddenly some sunny morning 

 the last of March we find part of the bushes are a mass of fluffy 

 yellow balls, while the rest bear curious green tassels. We owe 

 much to the willows commercially, but our esthetic debt is 

 large also. Of the native species the pussy willow {Salix discolor) 

 is the showiest. The staminate bushes are very attractive for 

 several weeks before flowering, and then for a few days they are 

 glorious. And they give of their beauty bounteously long before 

 the rest of the plant world begins to waken. 



Closely following the willows the swamp maples {Acer riihrum) 

 burst into bloom, giving promise by their red and yellow fringes 

 of the wonderful wealth of color to come later in the year. 



At this time, also, come the tiny flowers of the spice bush 

 {Benzoin Benzoin) making a greenish haze through the damp 

 woods and over the swamps. These shrubs are seldom seen 

 outside their native haunts, and because of their early blooming, 

 comparatively few people who know their later appearance 

 have any idea of how they look when in flower. They are 

 desirable for ornamental planting, because of their early blooming, 



* Essay awarded second prize, written by an amateur, on some feature of the 

 vegetation of our local flora range. See Torreya for March, 1912, and January, 

 1 913. — Ed. 

 [No. I, Vol. 13, of Torreya, comprising pp. 1-24, was issued 8 January 1913-] 



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