486 



BOTANY. 



Order Salicaceee. — The Willow Family. Dioecious trees and sbrubs 

 with naked flowers — i.e., the perianth wanting. The species, of which 

 there are 180, are principally found in the North Temperate and 

 Arctic Zones ; beyond the tropics they are rare, and none occur in 



Figs. 884-9.— Illustbations op Saux capb2ea. 



Fig. 386. Fig. 387. 



Fig. 384.— Male catkin and separate flower. 



Fig. 388. 



Magnified. 



Fig. 385.— Female catkin. Fig. 386.— Female flower. 



Fig. 387. — Cross-section of ovary. Magnified. 



Fig. 888.— Eipe fmit and seed. Magnified. Fig. 389.— Embryo. Magnified. 



Australia and the South Pacific Islands. They contain a bitter astrin- 

 gent principle useful in medicine as a febrifuge. 



Two genera only are known. 



Salix verminalis, S. purpurea, S. caproea, and other species of the 

 Old World, are cultivated for basket-making. 



