32 FAMILIAR TREES 



the capsule has a slender stalk. The Sallow is a large 

 shrub or a small tree, fifteen to thirty feet high, fre- 

 quenting damp situations, the first to flower of our 

 British Willows, and, therefore, contributing the 

 " palm " for a March Easter. It is typically distin- 

 guished from the Goat Willow, into which some of its 

 varieties graduate, by its downy buds and twigs and 

 glaucous ' obovate-lanceolate " leaves, with reddish ' 

 brown hairs on their under-surfaces, and with large 

 stipules. The Goat Willow, frequenting drier situ- 

 ations, is a small tree, with smooth buds, and large 

 broad, " ovate " leaves, having wavy margins with 

 rounded serrations. 



The detail necessary for their discrimination 

 proves the ornamental value of many of the forms of 

 Willow to be almost equal. The Almond-leaved, the 

 Bay-leaved, and the Crack Willows, producing their 

 bright golden flowers and graceful foliage simultane- 

 ously, are well worth planting by the water-side, as is 

 also the Common Osier, on account of the elegant out- 

 line of its long leaves. In the bare-boughed, moist 

 month of February, the glossy, brightly coloured young 

 twigs of many kinds have a peculiar charm; but we have 

 too often to be content to see the larger sorts in the 

 grotesquely maltreated form of pollards : — 



"The shock-head Willows, two and two." 



It is, however, when growing to its full natural 

 stature, and reflected in the clear water of a river, by 

 whose margin the Meadowsweet foams in creamy 

 luxuriance, that the White or Bedford Willows are 

 seen to the best advantage. 



