SALIX 
53 
(b) S. caprea var. sphacelata Wahlenberg FI. Carpat. 319 (1814); Syme Eng. Bot. viii, 234 (1868); 5 . 
lanata Lightfoot FI. Scot. 602 (1777) non L. ; 5 . sphacelata Smith FI. Brit. 1066 (1804); S. caprea var. alpina 
Gaudin FI. Helv. vi, 240 (1830); A. et G. Camus Classif. Saul. 207 (1904); Rouy FI. France xii, 205 (1910). 
leones: — Smith Eng. Bot. t. 2333, as S. sphacelata \ Forbes Sal. Woburn, t. 121, as S. sphacelata ; Reichen- 
bach Icon. t. 579, fig. 2027, as S. caprea var. parvifolia. 
Exsiccata : — Leefe, 66, as S', caprea var. sphacelata ; herb. Lightfoot, as S. lanata ( fide Smith FI. Br., 
loc. cit.). 
Small shrub, up to about 2 m. high. Young branches softly pubescent. Stipules when per- 
sistent smaller than in var. genuina. Petioles shorter, pubescent. Laminae softly pubescent when 
unfolding, oval-acute to obovate, rather cuneate at the base, entire or slightly serrate, upper 
surface pale green and glabrous at maturity, lower surface pubescent, tip often withering early. 
Catkins smaller. Bracts darker. Style usually very short. Stigmas entire or notched. Capsules 
somewhat silky. 
Several of the records of this plant appear to refer to hybrids of 5 . aurita and S. cinerea. 
A montane or sub-Alpine form. “ In valleys, among the Highlands of Scotland ” (Lightfoot, op. cit.). 
“At Fionlarig [Perthshire], near the head of Loch Tay” (Smith, op. cit.)] North Riding of Yorkshire 
(Leefe, op. cit.). 
S. caprea is common in woods and hedgerows, preferring drier localities than S. cinerea , 
throughout the British Isles except in northern Scotland; ascending to about 610 m. in Perth- 
shire. The Rev. E. F. Linton ( Journ . Bot. xxxii, 202 (1894)) gives an unlocalised record of 
S', caprea at 760 m. In the fens of eastern England, S. caprea is almost absent, whilst S. 
cinerea is abundant ; and also in the damp woods of the chalky boulder clay of eastern England, 
S. caprea is rare, whilst S. cinerea is common. 
Europe (to 70° N. in Scandinavia, and ascending to 2000 m. in the Alps; Asia Minor and the 
Urals to Japan. 
S. aurita x caprea (see page 56) ; S. caprea x caprea x viminalis (see page 63). 
S. caprea x cinerea Wimmer in Dcnkschr. Schles. Gesellsch. 162 (1853)!; A. et G. Camus Classif. Saul. 
326 (1904); v. Seemen in Ascherson und Graebner Syn. iv, 214 (1909); Rouy FI. France xii, 239 (1910); S'. 
polymorpha Host Hist. Sal. 21 (1828) part.; x S. reichardti A. Kerner in Verb. Z.-B. Gesellsch. Wien 249 
(i860)!; White in Journ. Linn. Soc. xxvii, 386 (1890); excluding syn. S. aquatica Smith. 
leones: — Host Hist. Sal. t. 69, as S. polymorpha] A. et G. Camus op. cit., Atlas t. 30, fig. K — R, as x S. 
reichardti. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate 50. (a) Shoot with androgynous catkins. ( b ) Barren shoot. ( c ) Stamens 
and staminodes (enlarged), (d) Ovaries (enlarged). ( e ) Androgynous flower (enlarged). Huntingdonshire 
(E. W. H.). 
Exsiccata: — Leefe, 63, as S. caprea var. androgyna] E. F. et W. R. Linton, 55; herb. Marshall, 3386. 
Habit usually of S. caprea. Young branches and buds more or less persistently pubescent. 
Laminae usually intermediate in width between S. caprea and S. cinerea , more or less persis- 
tently pubescent above as well as underneath. Catkins intermediate in size ; April and early 
May. 
Both White (op. cit.) and Linton (Journ. Bot. xxxiv, p. 466) regard S. caprea x cmerea as rather rare. Still, White 
has 24 sheets of Perthshire specimens in his herbarium. According to our own experience, wherever the putative parents grow 
together, individuals occur which are with difficulty referred to either the one species or the other. As we find no such 
difficulty where only one of the species occurs, it is reasonable to suppose that the doubtful plants are of hybrid origin. 
These hybrids are very variable; but, on the whole, they approach S. caprea more closely than S. cinerea , and are often 
recognisable only with difficulty in dried specimens. 
Androgynous flowers (cf. plate 50) are not infrequent among hybrid willows in which also it is not uncommon to 
find so-called “ monstrous ” characters of the nectary. It would appear that the hybridising of plants frequently induces 
“germinal instability,” as Dr R. R. Gates suggests with regard to hybrids in Oenothera (1913). 
It appears probable that Salix has descended from ancestors with monoclinous flowers ; and hence the phenomenon 
of “androgynous” flowers in hybrid willows may be due to a kind of reversion, as mentioned by Bateson as occurring in 
hybrids (Mendel's Principles of Heredity (1909) passim). 
Northwards as far as Ross-shire. 
Recorded for Scandinavia, Germany, France, central Europe, Russia, and doubtless as widespread as the 
putative parents. 
S. caprea x cinerea x phylicifolia (see page 46). 
