. lows from the showiness 
WILLOW FAMILY 49 
1. S. nigra Marsh. Brack Wittow. 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. Sainrnc Wititow. 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, firn, 
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, 
1-14 in. long, the pistil- 
late ones slender, 13-2 
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- 
of the staminate catkins Fic. 10. White willow (Salix alba) 
and the large glossy leaves. 
3. S. alba L. Wuite 4, oes a size; B, plane 
Wauow, Yertow Wir  catbinsnatoalaize: ¢.astemindee tower, 
Low. A spreading tree fied. (After Cosson and De Saint-Pierre) 
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}-34 in. long. Stamens usually 2. Capsule ovoid, 
pointed. Cultivated from Europe (especially Var. vitellina), and 
