WILLOW FAMILY 



readily at the nodes and quickly sends shoots into the 

 air while the roots take hold of the sand. In this way 

 extensive clumps are formed which crown the low 

 hills. 



HEART-LEAVED WILLOW. DIAMOND WILLOW 



Salix eordata. 



Five to twelve feet high, growing in clumps in wet soil and 

 along the watercourses. Range from New Brunswick to British 

 Columbia, south to Virginia, Missouri and California. Hybri- 

 dizes freely. 



Stems. — Brown or on older stems ashy gray or yellowish brown. 

 Branches greenish brown, or bright green or bronze yellow, 

 smooth ; recent shoots yellowish, or pale green, or downy white. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, oblong, lanceolate, narrowed, ob- 

 tuse or heart-shaped at base, sharply serrulate with glandular 

 teeth, acuminate at apex. They come out of the bud condupli- 

 cate, downy ; when full grown, green on both sides or paler be- 

 neath. Petioles half to three-fourths of an inch long. Stipules 

 oblique, serrulate, usually large and persistent. 



Flowers. — April, May. Catkins expanding before the leaves. 

 Staminate about three-fourths of an inch long, about three sta- 

 mens to a flower ; the pistillate one to two inches long in fruit. 

 Fruiting capsule narrowly-ovoid, acute. 



This shrub of the watercourses grows in character- 

 istic clumps which are formed by the development of 

 sprouts from the original plant. In the larger clumps 

 the first or oldest stem is usually dead or dying ; its 

 vitality sapped by the gradual formation of the stems 

 about it. These stems are smooth and flexible, but 

 tough as well, and are sometimes used in basket work. 



The name Diamond Willow, which seems to be local 

 to the west, is due to the peculiar way in which the 

 bark cracks on the older stems. 



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