206 



SALICACEyE. 



Salix. 



Muhl. I. c. 4- cat. p. 95 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 609 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 668 ; Beck, hot. p. 318. S. 

 tristis <§• Muhlenbergiana, Willd. sp. 4. pp. 692 & 693. S. longirostris, Michx.jl. 2. p. 226; 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 558 ; Barratt, Sal. no. 2. S. villosa, Sal. Wob. p. 183. t. 92. 



A low much branched shrub, 1-2 feet high, of a gray aspect, sometimes procumbent ; 

 the branches brittle and grayish-pubescent when young, sometimes with small cones at the 

 extremity. Buds pubescent. Leaves 1-2 inches long and 2-6 lines wide, somewhat 

 rugose and densely woolly underneath ; the upper surface finally smoothish, but dull and of a 

 gray color. Stipules never seen by me. Aments very small, loosely flowered and numerous, 

 about one-third of an inch long when first expanded, but the fertile half an inch in length when 

 in fruit. Buds brown and pubescent. Scales very villous, obovate, blackish at the tip. Anthers 

 at first reddish, changing to yellow. Ovaries white and villous : style very short : stigmas 

 oblong, deeply 2-lobed. 



Dry sandy soils, and on hill-sides ; frequent. Fl. April. Fr. May. The smallest of our 

 lowland willows. 



** Discolores, Barratt. Aments oval or cylindrical, appearing before the leaves, clothed with silky hairs or smoothish. 



Scales blackish. Stamens 2 ; tlw filaments distinct, or united below. Ovary pedicellate. Leaves deciduous, some- 

 what coriaceous, serrate or denticulate, smooth and shining above, glaucous or pubescent underneath. — Trees or 

 shrubs. 



4. Salix discolor, Muhl. Glaucous Willow. 



Leaves oblong or obovate -oblong, rather obtuse or with a short acumination, remotely 

 serrulate-toothed, at first somewhat pubescent, but finally smooth, glaucous underneath ; 

 stipules lunate, acuminate; aments oblong- cylindrical , the sterile very silky and white; 

 scales obovate ; ovaries on pedicels shorter than the scales, with a long tapering beak ; style 

 conspicuous ; lobes of the stigma deeply 2-parted. — Muhl. I. c. p. 234. t. 6. Jig. 1, and cat. 

 p. 95 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 613 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 669 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 364 ; Torr. compend. 

 p. 369 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 559 ; Hodk.fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 147 ; Sal. Wob. p. 219. f. 147 ; 

 Barratt, Sal. no. 3. 



Stem six feet or more in height, with brownish or greenish tough branches which are 

 pubescent when young. Flower-buds large and smooth, each formed of one dark brown 

 exterior scale and three linear silky bracts. Leaves 2-5 inches long and from an inch to 

 nearly two inches wide, with the serratures more or less distinct, deep green and somewhat 

 shining above, strongly glaucous underneath, sometimes obtuse and unequal at the base : 

 petioles half an inch or more in length. Stipules often toothed. Aments an inch long, thick 

 and compact ; the sterile beautifully silky and white, with the black scales indistinctly visible 

 through the hairs, expanding (as in most of this section) from above downward. Stamens 

 distinct. Capsules spreading, white. Style longer than the lobes of the stigma. 



Swamps and borders of rivers ; frequent. Fl. Early in April. Fr. May. 



