430 SALICACEJE. (WILLOW FAMILY.) 



* Am* nts small, sessile : orary silky : stamens 2. — Low canescent shrubs, with small 



leaves. Aments developed before the leaves. 



1. S. tristis, Ait. Loaves very numerous, lanceolate, obtuse or aeute, 

 entire or wavy, at least on the margin*, tapering at the base, nearly sessile, cov- 

 ered with a grayish down, at length smoothish above; stipules minute, caducous ; 

 flowering aments small, globular ; the oval bracts hairy on the margins; style 

 short; ovary slender, long-beaked. — Dry barren soil, in the upper districts of 

 Georgia, and northward. March and April. — Shrub l°-2° high. Leaves 

 1' --' long. 



2. S. humilis, Marshall. Leaves lanceolate, obtuse or abruptly pointed, 

 narrowed into a petiole, smoothish above, grayi.-h-pubescent beneath, often 

 slightly serrate near the summit ; stipules small, semi-cordate or lunate, entire or 

 toothed ; flowering aments ovoid or oblong, often drooping, with the lanceolate 

 bract- villous ; style conspicuous ; ovary slender. (S. conifera, Muhl. S. Mnh- 

 lenbcrgiana, Wilhl.) — Barren soil in the upper districts, and northward. March. 

 — Shrub 2° - 4° high, often bearing cone-like excrescences. 



3. S. rosmarmifolia, L. Leaves linear-lanceolate, nearly entire, flat, 

 pubescent above, silky beneath ; ovary lanceolate, villous ; styles elongated. — 

 Swamps and low ground, Florida ? and northward. — Shrub 2° - 4° high. 

 Branches silky. Leaves 1'- 2' long. Stipules subulate. Bracts oblong, obtuse, 

 hairy on the margins. 



* * Aments large, cylindrical, sessile, silky -villous, developed before the leaves : ovaries 



woolly. — Lareje shrubs. 



4. S. discolor, Muhl. Branchlets pubescent: leaves oblong, petielcd, 

 acute at each end, serrate in the middle, smooth and shining above, glaucous 

 beneath ; stipules semi-lunar, toothed ; aments woolly, with glossy hairs ; sta- 

 mens 2; ovary white-silky, sessile. — Low ground, Carolina, Pursh, and north- 

 ward. April. — Shrub 8° -10° high. Leaves 2' -4' long. Aments V-ltf 

 long. 



* # * Aments lareje, cylindrical, on leafy peduncles or branchlets, appearing with the 



leaves: ovaries smooth, stalked. 



5. S. Floridana, n. sp. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, smooth above, 

 glaucous beneath, finely serrate, rounded at the base, the petioles pubescent; 

 Stipules small, caducous ; fruiting anient oblong, dense ; capsule ovate-lanceolate, 

 smooth. — Rocky banks, West Florida, fruiting in April. — Shrub S°-12° high. 

 Leaves thin, 2' -.3' long. Fruiting anient- 2' - 3' long, 1' in diameter, enveloped 

 in the copious wool of the seeds. Flowers not Been. 



6. S. nigra, Mar-hall. Leaves lanceolate, acute at each end, serrate, peti- 

 oled, pubescent when young, becoming smoothish and green on both surfaces; 

 stipules small and caducous or sometimes lunate, toothed, and persistent; 

 aments elongated, the fertile ones -lender, loose-flowered ; bracts deciduous 

 mens 3 - 6, hairy below ; capsule ovate, acuminate, pointed by the conspicuous 

 style. (S. Houstoniana, Pursh.) — Swamps and muddy hanks of rivers. Florida, 

 and northward. A shrub or small tree, with brittle branches. Leaves 2' - 3' 



