THE WILLOWS. 65 
than those of S.fragilis, taper to a point at each end, and are 
very smooth on both sides. It occurs in swampy woods. 
The White Willow {Salix alba) is so called from the appear- 
ance of the leaves as the light is reflected from their silky surfaces, 
which are alike above and below. It is a tree from sixty to 
eighty feet high, with a girth of twenty feet, covered with thick 
and deeply fissured bark. The leaves are from two to four inches 
long, of a narrow elliptical shape. In the typical form the twigs 
are olive-coloured, but in the variety vitellina (known as the 
Golden Willow) these are yellow or reddish. In the variety 
carulea the old leaves become quite smooth above, but retain 
the glaucous appearance of the underside. The White Willow 
