THE WILI.OWS. 
69 
long, are of an almost oblong shape, downy beneath, and with 
large ear-shaped stipules. Its likeness is much closer to S, 
cinerea than to the type ; it is fond of damp copses and moist 
places on heaths, where it may be found at considerable eleva- 
tions. In the Highlands it ascends to 2000 feet. 
There are Willows of dwarf habit, some with long straggling 
branches and more or less prostrate stems, that grow upon 
heaths. Each has a name under which it has at some time or 
other been ranked as a distinct species, just as the forms of 
Bramble and Rose have been. The differences between them 
are minute, and of little interest save to the advanced scientific 
botanist, who with his dried specimens spread before him 
often detects subtle distinctions not apparent to the out- 
door student of the living plant. For the purposes of those 
for whom this volume is intended they may be regarded 
as one. 
Dwarf Silky Willow (^Salix repens). It is a low bush from 
six to twelve inches high, the stem lying along the ground. 
Some of the branches straggle in the same fashion, but those 
which bear the flowers are more or less erect. The leaf-buds 
and the young leaves are silky, a condition that usually endures 
on the lower surface, and in some forms on the upper also. 
They are broadly or narrowly lance-shaped, varying in the 
different forms alluded to above ; in size they range from a half to 
one and a half inches in length, and may have lance-shaped 
stipules, or none at all. The scales of the catkins are yellowish- 
green or purple, with dark tips. After they have shed their 
pollen the anthers turn black. One form or other of this 
species will be found in all parts of the British Islands where 
there are heaths or commons ; in the Highlands it occurs as 
high as 2500 feet. 
Another group of small Willows that form bushes (rarely a 
small tree) have been united under two species — the Dark- 
leaved Willow {Salix 7 tigricans), and the Tea-leaved Willow 
