50 



THE YOUNG NATUEALIST. 



And still further to complicate matters 

 the staminate and pistillate flowers are 

 borne on separate plants, so that four 

 distinct gatherings are required for 

 each species. And- premising that the 

 flowers and leaves of dozens of species, 

 if taken separately, are scarcely distin- 

 guishable, it is no wonder that mistakes 

 often occur in large collections, or that 

 the beginner finds it tedious and irk- 

 some. And yet the willow bespeaks a 

 word of welcome, for it is one of the 

 earliest heralds of the advent of spring 

 " When the yellow catkins cover 

 All the slender willows over." 

 Or as Tannahill in one of his most 

 charming lyrics, "Gloomy winter's 

 now awaV' sings — 



" Siller saughs wi' downy buds 

 Adorn the banks fu' briary O." 



A.t Eastertide the leafless branches of 

 willow — chiefly S. caprea — conspicu- 

 ous by its profusion of golden catkins, 

 are much sought after to deck the 

 churches with, as a substitute for the 

 triumphal palm, hence they are often 

 locally called " palms." 



The flowers of the willow are ex- 

 ceedingly simple : they are called 

 achlamydeous because they have neither 

 calyx nor corolla. The staminate 

 flowers are nothing more than two 

 (in one British species three and in 

 another five) slender stamens springing 

 from the same point of the catkin with 

 a small scale at the base. They are so 

 showy from the large number clustered 

 together and the bright yellow, some- 



times purple hue of the anthers. The 

 pollen is produced in great quantities, 

 and is a welcome feast to the bees, by 

 whom it is greedily devoured after 

 their winter's abstemiousness. Being 

 dry and powdery it is readily carried 

 by the wind to the pistillate flowers, 

 which simply consist of a bottle-like 

 ovary with a forked stigma and a small 

 scale at the base. They too are produced 

 in catkins, but usually of a sober green, 

 or downy grey appearance. When 

 mature, the ovary bursts in two, and 

 discloses the minute seeds, densely 

 covered with silky hairs. The seeds 

 do not long retain their vitality, and 

 if they do not readily reach a favourable 

 nidus, they quickly lose their power of 

 germinating. But this is compensated 

 for, by the readiness which any broken 

 twig will take root and grow. Nothing 

 is easier than to strike cuttings of 

 willow, sufiicient soil to stick them 

 into and plenty of moisture being all that 

 is necessary. The great majority of 

 species love to grow in marshes, and 

 by watercourses, hence they are invalu- 

 able for repairing and binding the 

 banks of rivers. These are all quick 

 growing and short lived, most of them 

 only attaining the size of bushes or 

 shrubs, but the ^hite willow {S. alba) 

 often attains a height of 40 to 60 feet^ 

 and a girth of 6 to 10 feet, this is the 

 most easily recognized species, from its 

 size, and the silvery hue of its foliage, 

 especially when the under surface is 



