THE WILLOWS OF OHIO. 297 



Salix discolor Muhl. Pussy Willow. 



The pussy willow is typically a swamp shrub growing in 

 clumps differing from those of 5. sericea or S. cordata in that each 

 plant is usually a close clump, separated from its neighbors by a 

 distinct interval, while those species run over a considerable area 

 in a loose clump. The stems are not ordinarily recumbent but 

 strictly upright and straight. Twigs of swamp plants rank, 

 sometimes almost 10 mm. in thickness varying from glossy to 

 densely tomentose, with very large well filled purple-brown buds. 

 In less luxuriant growth the twigs may be smaller, sometimes 

 wooly, with smaller buds. Leaves varying from ovate to spatu- 

 late, coarse serrate with blunt incurved teeth to entire or even 

 slightly revolute, glabrescent above, beneath glabrous and paler 

 to glaucous or sometimes tomentose or pilose. Hair soft and 

 wooly as in 5. bebbiana or short, straight and ferruginous. 



Pussies before anthesis larger than in any other species and 

 consequently this is the favorite species with the children in 

 search of pussies in the spring. At anthesis the staminate with 

 their long coarse filaments are larger than any other of our wil- 

 lows except 5. lucida; carpellate also very large, sometimes 13 

 cm. in fruit, scales dark brown, capsules long (8 mm.), rostrate, 

 gray pubescent to glabrate in age, pedicel sometimes nearly as 

 long as the capsule but usually shorter. The flowering time is 

 earlier than any other of our willows and it lasts such a short time 

 that it frequently happens that Salix discolor blossoms and goes 

 by before one gets out after it, a difficulty not met with in any 

 other of our willows. When the other pussy willows are found 

 in flower it is generally in fruit so that there is little danger of 

 confusing it with them. 



As described above Salix discolor includes forms differing 

 from each other very strikingly. But the longer I study them 

 the surer I am that, diverse as they are, all are one species. The 

 great differences are all in characters like the shape, surface and 

 pubescence of the leaves, which are subject to considerable vari- 

 ation and are to a great extent the outcome of various environ- 

 mental conditions. The catkins also vary somewhat but in 

 studying specimens from marked trees taken in flower and leaf I 

 have been able to find no correlation between the separate varia- 

 tions in flower and leaf. 



Plate IX. Salix discolor. 



Leafy twig of the most common form ; other leaves shown below from 

 left to right as follows: broad, blunt, tomentose form resembling 5. 

 nigricans of Europe connecting with 5. bebbiana (rare); narrow ferrugi- 

 nous form often found on plants which would pass as 5. enocephala; 

 long, narrow, nearly entire form (var. prinoides) ; twig with winter bud 

 and young pussies; staminate flowers typical; carpellate anient a little 

 narrower than usual; fruiting anient typical except that it is unusually 

 long; natural size; capsule enlarged three times. 



