136 salicacEjE. 



Leaves obloug to oblanceolate, pale or gray-pubescent beneath; ovary and 



capsule glabrous ■ ■ • 6. S. lasiolepis. 



Leaves obovate or oblong-obovate to oblanceolate and 

 Pubescent beneath, at maturity glabrate; pi>tillale aments oblong, i4 'o 

 % In. long; stigmas divided into 2 linear lobes . . 7. S. NuUaUii 



var. bracfiystachys. 



Lustrous-silky beneath; pistillate aments slender, 2 in. long; stigmas 



obloug, entire or nearly so . . 8. 5. Siichensis. 



1. S. nigra Marsh. Black Willow. Kivek Willow. Tree 

 20 to 30 ft. high; bark rough and dark; branchlets brittle at the base; 

 mature leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, long-pointed, often 

 falcate, serrulate, 4 to 6 in. long, on petioles f in. long, green on both 

 surfaces; stipules senai-cordate, acuminate or minute or early decidu- 

 ous; aments (catkins) becoming rather lax; bracts obovate, yellow, 

 more or less villous below the middle, sometimes slightly dentate; 

 stamens 3 to 5; ovary ovate; capsule reddish-brown. 



Kiver and slough banks of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. 



2. S. laevigata Bebb. Bbbb Willow. Tree 30 to 40 ft. high; 

 branchlets one winter old reddish-brown; young leaves mostly oblong, 

 disposed to be broadest above the middle, but very variable, entire, 

 soon becoming serrulate; stipules small and caducous or represented 

 by minute glands; mature leaves lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 

 serrulate, green and shining above, pale or conspicuously glaucous 

 beneath, 4 in. long, nearly 1 in. to IJ- in. broad, on petioles 4 lines 

 long, the smaller oblong, 1\ in. long, all mucronate; staminate 

 aments erect or pendulous, commonly flexuous, 2^ to 3J in. long; 

 bracts closely imbricated, more or less elliptic, wooUj"" at base, 

 glabrous and pallid towards the apex, 2 to 4-toothed at apex; stamens 

 5 or 6, elongating after dehiscence begins, less than twice the length 

 of the bracts when fully grown; anthers chrome-yellow; filaments 

 hairy below; capsule brown, 2 to 2J lines long. 



Coast Ranges: Berkeley; York Creek, St. Helena; Howell Mt. 

 Sierra Nevada. Mar. 15-Apr. Dr. Anderson of Santa Cruz calls 

 this "Spotted-leaf Willow." 



3. S. lasiandra Benth. Western Black Willow. Tree 30 to 

 45 ft. high, the trunk with brown roughly fissured hark; branchlets 

 one winter old yellowish; young leaves mostly lanceolate, glandular- 

 serrulate with suborbicular stipules; petioles glandular at the upper 

 end; mature leaves lanceolate with long tapering point, 4 to 7 in. 

 long, f in. wide; stipules on vigorous shoots conspicuous, 5 to 12 

 lines broad; aments (catkins) on leafy peduncles; staminate aments 

 \\ to 3 in. long, straight; bracts thin, oblong, nearly or quite glabrous 

 on the back, hairy at base, entire or often minutely toothed at the 

 acute apex, IJ lines long; stamens 5 or 4, anthers pale-yellow; pistil- 

 late aments IJ to 2J in. long; bracts acute, mostly minutely toothed; 

 pistil pedicellate; capsule reddish-yellow, 3 lines long. 



A common tree on river banks and ahmg creeks and ravines, com- 

 monly associated with S. lasiolepis but, unlike that, rarely deserting 

 living streams. Mar. Staminate bracts often reddish-brown on the 

 back at apex; stamens varying from 5 to 9 ace. to Sargent. 



