CHAP. CJ II. 



.SAL1CA^CE/K. SA L1X. 



1503 



Group iv. Pent&ndra Borrer. 

 Trees having Flowers With 3—5 Stamens. 



\l. 



Stamens in a flower more than 3, in most instances 5. Ovary glabrous. 

 The plants trees of moderate size. Leaves large, glossy, fragrant, serrated, 

 and having glands in the serratures, from which a resin exudes. Stamens 

 in each catkin so numerous and long, as to render the flowers, which, too, 

 are in perfection at the same time as the foliage, quite handsome, and the 

 trees, in this condition, more ornamental than those of any other group. 

 (Hook. Br. Fl. y ed. 2., with adaptation.) 



S 16. S. penta'ndra L. The five-stamened^owcra/ Willow. 



Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1442. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 658. ; Hayne Abbild., p. 221. ; Smith Eng. 



Bot.,t. 1805.; Eng. Fl.,4. p. 171.; Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 34.; Hook. Br. Fl., ed. 3., p. 420. ; 



Wade's Salices, p. 36. ; Mackay Fl. Hibern., pt. 1. p. 246. ; Host Sal. Austr., 1. p. 1. 

 Sunonymes. S. pentandra, part of, Koch Comm., p. 13. ; the sweet Willow, or Bay-leaved Willow. 

 The Sexes. Both sexes are figured in Sal. Wob. and Hayne's Abbild., and the male in Eng.Bot., 



with two views of an ovary. Both sexes are figured in Host's Sal. Austr. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1805. ; Hayne Abbild., t. 161.; Sal. Wob., No. 34.; Host Sal. Austr., 1. 



t. 1. f. 2. ; our Jig. 1299. a ; and Jig. 34. in p. 1610. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves ovate, pointed, crenate, glandular, glabrous. Foot- 

 stalks glandular at the summit. Stamens 5 or more, hairy at the base. 

 Ovary ovate," tapering, smooth, nearly sessile. (Sal. Wob. y p. 67.) A native 

 of Britain, on the banks of rivers and watery places ; 

 most frequent in the north. In 1804, this, and five or « 

 six other distinct sorts were abundant on the banks of ' 

 Gogar Burn, near Edinburgh, between Gogar House 

 and the junction of the burn with the river Almond. 

 It forms an upright tree, 18 ft. or 20 ft. high, with 

 smooth shining branches, and large, copious, shining 

 foliage, so as to give the plant, in the summer season, 

 the appearance of an evergreen. It is one of the latest- 

 flowering willows, the flower seldom expanding till 

 the beginning of June. The flowers are remarkably 

 fragrant, as are the leaves, especially when bruised : 

 the fragrance, which is similar to that of the sweet 

 bay (Laurus nobilis), but less powerful, is exuded 

 from the resinous notches of the leaves, and from the barren catkins. It is one 

 of the most desirable species of the genus for planting in pleasure-grounds, on 

 account of the fine display made by the blossoms, their abundant fragrance, 

 the smooth, shining, rich deep green of the leaves, and the comparatively 

 slow growth and compact habit of the tree. Mr. Forbes states that, when 

 cut down, this species produces tough flexible rods, fit for basketwork ; 

 but, in a wild state, on the banks of Gogar Burn, where its five or six other 

 sorts were periodically cut down for basketwork and for hoops, the shoots 

 of S. pentandra were considered rather short and brittle, as compared with 

 those of the others. Phalae^na typicoides, the Gothic moth, which, Donovan 

 (in his Insects, &c, vol. xv. p. 2. pi. 505.) says, is much esteemed by col- 

 lectors in Britain, on account of its scarceness, inhabits this willow. Not- 

 withstanding its being generally rare, it appears that it was seen in 1826, in 

 Cheshire, in immense quantities, during a thunder storm. (See Mag. Nat. 

 Hist., vol. hi., p. 404.) There are several plants in the Horticultural Society's 

 Garden, which, in 1834, after having been 10 years planted, were from 

 15 ft. to 18 ft. high ; and others in the Hackney and Gold worth arboretums, 

 and at Flitwick, Henfield, and Woburn. 



Variety. 



¥ S. p. 2 hcrmaphrodiiica ; S. hermaphroditica Lin. Sp. PL, p. 1442., 



5 F 



