WILLOW FAMILY. 



329 



The most of the Osier used in this country is imported ; the labor required 

 in peeling tlje twigs will probably prevent that raised in this country 

 from successfully competing with the foreign article. 



^ Aments produced iciih the leaves at the summit of short lateral leafy 

 branches, peduncled, long and loose: branches brittle at base. 



f Ovary sessile, smooth : stamens 2. 



2. S. al'ba, L. Leaves eUiptic-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, denticulate, silky glaucous 

 beneath ; stipules lanceolate ; styles short 

 White Salix. "White Willow. 



stem 30 - 60 feet high, much branched : branches 

 rather erect, with a pale greenish-yellow bark. 

 Leaves 2-4 inches long, the lower teeth glandular ; 

 peiioles 1-2 lines in length. PistUlaie amenis 2-3 

 inches long, greenish. 



About houses, kc. Xative of Europe. Fl. April. 



229 -si^ 



Obs. The "White Willow, if I mistake not, is the one which is pre- 

 ferred, and cultivated, by the manufacturers of Gun Powder, for the 

 purpose of making charcoal. It was introduced as a shade tree about 

 our old settlements, but is now generally superseded by the "Weeping 

 "Willow. It is however partly naturalized in some localities. The var. 

 vitellrna, — Yellow Willow or Golden Osier, — has orange-yellow branches 

 and rather shorter and broader leaves ; it is often seen, as a shade tree, 

 and partly naturalized. 



ft Ovary stalked, smooth: stamens 2-6. 



3. S. fra'gilis, var. Russelliana, Carey. Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, 

 serrate-dentate with the teeth incurved, somewhat glaucous beneath, and 

 slightly silky while young ; stipules half heart-shaped ; styles con- 

 spicuous. 



Brittle Salix. Bedford WiUow. 



stem 30-50 feet high : branches rather erect with a greenish-brown smooth harJc, some- 

 what pubescent when young, remarkably brittle at base. Leaves 2-4 inches long, acute 

 at each end. finally smooth : petioles 2-6 lines in length, glandular and somewhat pubes- 

 cent. Pistillate amenis 2-2}^ inches long. Pods tawny -green. 



Low grounds. Xative of England. Jl. May. 



Obs. This is one of the species cultivated for basket work. 



4. S. Babylo'xica, L. Toung branches very slender, flaccid and pendu- 

 lous ; leaves Hnear-lanceolate, acuminate, sharply serrulate or nearly 

 entire ; stipules minute, ovate, glandular-dentate ; aments recurved. 

 Babtloxlas Salix. "Weeping Willow. Drooping Willow. 



Fig. 228. Staminate flower of the White Willow (Salix alba), consisting of two stamens 

 with a gland at the base, borne on a scale of the ament. 229. A pistillate flower, an 

 ovary with a gland upon a scale of the ament. 



