i Ml. WILLOW FAMILY 
Salicaceae 
The willow family, comprising the willows and pop- 
lars, is characterized by tiny seeds surrounded by tufts 
of long white, silky hair-. The seeds are scattered in 
early spring. 
Of the willows proper, Alaska has many species but 
only four are known to attain tree size. They are 
extremely difficult to tell apart in the field, especially 
in winter, although the willow - as a whole can usually 
be identified by the bitter, quininelike taste of the bark. 
Aspen. Populus trctnuloides. 
Leaves smooth, shiny, pale beneath, alternate. Leal 
stems 1 to 3 inches long, flattened at right angle- to leaf 
base so that the leaves tremble in the slightest breeze. 
Leaf scars prominent. Twigs reddish. Male and female 
flowers on separate trees. Fruit light winged, maturing 
in early spring. Bark whitish. Trunk straight, 30 to 
40 feet tall. Limbs short and irregularly bent, mak- 
ing a narrow domelike crown. Curved scars and black 
knots on the bark are characteristic. Wood soft, brittle, 
and perishable, a fine pulp wood and good box material. 
A fast-growing tree with short life, it seeks south slopes, 
well-drained benches, and creek bottoms from the 
Arctic Circle throughout Yukon Valley to the Bering 
Sea, and extends south to the north slopes of the coast 
range. It is also to some slight extent on the Pacific 
side where inlets cut into the mountains. 
Balsam Poplar. Populus balsamifera. 
Leaves dark green, lustrous above, rusty brown be- 
neath, larger and longer than the leaves of aspen. 
Flowers in long cylindrical clusters hanging conspicu- 
ously from bases of buds on twigs of previous year's 
growth. Bark deeply furrowed, gray brown. Young 
twigs shiny red. Buds large and sticky, covered with 
a pungent balsam, the odor of which permeates the 
air in spring. Wood fine-grained, soft, satisfactory for 
cooperage or boxes and excellent for pulp. 
The balsam poplar lias a straight stem and long, 
thin, open crow Q. It is seldom over 50 feet tall. It is 
found in river valleys and sandy bottoms from the head 
of Lynn Canal throughout the interior, west to 165° at 
Igloo on Seward Peninsula and north to a few scattered 
stream bottoms on the Arctic slope. 
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