M.MOM) -I ,E M WILLOW 

 Scdix amygdaloides And' 



The Willow I ainil\ 

 B \i U ICI IE 



Habit and Habitat: A tree, 20 10 feet high or taller in the cast, 



with a straight, columnar trunk. 12-20 inchea in diameter; straight, 

 ending, tough branches form a rather narrow, rounded or spreading, 



open crown. Prefers the borders of ponds and lakes and bar 

 streams along which it ranges entirely across the continent, being 1 



abundant in the far east than elsewhere. 



Leaves and Buds: The leaves are alternate, simple. 2-6 inches long, 

 l x 4 inch wide, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, wedge-shaped or round- 

 ed at the base, long-pointed, finely serrate, thin, but firm, when full 

 grown light green and shiny above, pale and whitish beneath, petioles 

 slender, Vk-% mch long. Winter buds broadly ovoid, baggy, or swollen on 

 one side, shiny, dark brown, ** inch long. 



Flowers and Fruits: Flowers produced in April or May, borne in 

 densely crowded, slender, cylindrical, hairy catkins 2-.'i inches long, calyx 

 and corolla 0, each flower subtended by an oval, yellow, silky bract 

 or scale; stamens o-9, ovary oblong-conical, about V* inch long. Fruit 

 ripening In May or June, clustered in open, drooping catkins, globose- 

 conical pod or capsule, l 4 inch long, containing many minute, brownish 

 seeds, each furnished with a tuft of long, silky, white hairs, which makes 

 possible the blowing of the seeds for long distances. 



Bark, Twigs and Wood: The bark on young twigs is smooth, shiny, 

 dark orange or reddish-brown, becoming darker orange-brown, thick 

 and bn.wn on old branches and the main trunk, and irregularly Assured 

 into flat, more or less connected ridges. The wood is light, soft, weak, 

 close-grained, light brown, with thick, almost white Bapwood; used 

 locally for fuel or occasionally for fence posts, but the wood is not 

 durable in contact with the soil so it is not good for posts. 



Distribution in the State: This willow has a very wide range, being 



found in almost all parts of the country. It is seen along streams and 



in marshy places in all parts of our state, it being a tree whose light, 



hairy have carried it into practically every possible section of the 



be. Map •"». 



Remarks: It is said that this species often hybridize- naturally with 

 other species of willows so that the characteristics became so badly 

 mixed as to render certain identification difficult. However, the usually 

 broader and more shining leaves will help to distinguish this spe 

 from the closely related black willow. The almond-leaf willow is not a 

 particularly desirable ornamental tree, but in the most favorable situ- 

 ations it may develop into a fairly pretty tree. But like most species of 

 willow this tree is little -more than a weed among trees. When grown 

 in quantities sufficient to be worth while the wood is quite valuable 



[Uick-firing and brief fire wood. The almond-leaf willow. . irly all 



species of willow, may be readily propogated by "slips" 01 cuttings. 



—87 



