WILLOW FAMILY 



49 



1. S. nigra Marsh. Black Willow. A small tree with very 

 brittle branches. Leaves elliptical or narrowly lanceolate, acute at 

 each end, serrate, short-petioled, downy when young and becoming 

 smooth with age, 2-3 in. long ; stipules persistent or deciduous. 

 Staminate catkins 1-2 in. long; the pistillate 2-4 in. long. Stamens 

 3-7, distinct ; filaments soft-hairy below. Capsule twice the length 

 of the pedicel, ovate, taper-pointed, pointed by the prominent style. 

 Along streams and borders of marshes.* 



2. S. lucida Muhl. Shining Willow. A large shrub or some- 

 times a bushy tree 20 ft. high, with smooth bark, yellowish-brown 

 and shining on the twigs. Leaves varying from ovate to lanceolate, 

 usually with very slender 

 tapering points, sharply 

 and finely serrate, firm, 

 green, and glossy on both 

 sides, 3-5 in. long ; stip- 

 ules small, oblong, usually 

 persistent. Catkins borne 

 on short leafy branches, 

 the staminate ones stout, 

 1-1 J in. long, the pistil- 

 late ones slender, 1^-2 

 in. long, lengthening in 

 fruit to 8-4: in. Stamens 

 usually 5. Capsule nar- 

 rowly ovoid or cylindrical, 

 pointed, smooth, and shin- 

 ing. Banks of streams, 

 lakes, and swamps. One 

 of the most beautiful wil- 

 lows .from the showiness 

 of the staminate catkins 

 and the large glossy leaves. 



3. S. alba L. White 

 Willow, Yellow Wil- 

 low. A spreading tree 

 50-80 ft. high, with rough 

 gray bark, yellowish-green on the twigs. Leaves lanceolate, narrowed 

 at the base, with long tapering points, gray or silky-downy on both 

 sides when young, the upper surface (especially in Var. vitellina) 

 becoming smooth when old, 2-4 in. long ; stipules ovate-lanceolate, 

 deciduous. Catkins on short leafy branches, the pistillate ones slen- 

 der, cylindrical, 1|-3J in. long! Stamens usually 2. Capsule ovoid, 

 pointed. Cultivated from Europe (especially Var. vitellina), and 



Fig. 10. White willow (Salix alba) 



A, staminate catkin, natural size ; B, pistillate 

 catMn, natural size ; C, a staminate flower, 

 magnified; D, a pistillate flower, magni- 

 fied. (After Cosson and De Saint-Pierre) 



