BLACK willow 

 S '//.-• nigra Marsh. 



The Willofl Family 

 BALICA4 BAI 



Hahit and Habitat: A t r« ',(> feet tall, with a short, often bent 



trunk. s -l!<» inches in diameter; the stout, erect and spreading branches 

 m a broad, rounded or irregular, open crown; sometimes a low, much 



divided shrub. Prefers moist soil along streams or about marshes and 

 (Is. but grows fairly well in the drier soils of parks. 



LeaTes and Buds: Leaves alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, % 



inch broad, lanceolate, often long, taper-pointed and curved at the tip, 

 rounded or wedge-shaped at the base, finely serrate, bright green and 

 shiny above, pale and more or less hairy beneath, petioles short, some- 

 what hairy. Buds narrow-conical, acute, shiny, reddish-brown, %- u 4 inch 

 lonp; flower buds usually with a single bud scale. 



Flowers and Fruits: Flowers produced in late March, April or 

 May, with the leaves, or before them, borne in crowded, cylindrical cat- 

 kins, l-"> inches long-, calyx 0, corolla 0, flower scales yellow, silky, 

 stamens 3-6, ovary broadly conical, short-stalked. Fruit a dry, conical 

 pod or capsule, ripe in June, % inch long, containing many tiny brown 

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



Bark, Twigs and Wood: The bark is dark brown or nearly black 

 on some trees and on old trunks, divided into broad, flat, connected ridges 

 which often become more or less scaly or shaggy; twigs smooth or hairy, 

 bright reddish-brown, becoming darker with age; thick and darker 

 brown on the older branches; branches slender, brittle. Wood light red- 

 dish-brown, sapwood, nearly white, light, soft, weak, close-grained, 

 checks badly in drying, used for fuel. 



Distribution in the State: This is a common tree or shrub all over 

 eastern United States and westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains; 

 it also appears in California. It is found in practically all parts of the 

 state of Nebraska wherever there is sufficient moisture in the soil for 

 its demands as along stream courses and about lakes and ponds. Mai 



Remarks: Willows differ greatly in size and habit of growth but 



otherwise tiny are very much alike. The toughness of the root system 



is sometimes utilized in the planting of these trees on the banks of 



streams in order that the tough interlacing roots may protect the 



linst the erosive force of the water. Sometimes the roots of 



willows enter a break in a water main where they develop to such a de- 



I to nearly prevent the flow of water through the- main. Willows 



nnd in the far arctic north and also abound in the tropics. On 



some high mountains 1 - of willows become BO greatly dwarfed 



as only 1-2 inches high and they produce a carpet-like growth on 



the surface of the ground, the tree- habit of growth being completely 



andoned. 



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