WILLOW 
889 
axis forming a cluster called an ament or 
catkin. The stamens and pistils in all spe¬ 
cies are in separate flowers, and are 
borne on different individual plants, some 
producing only staminate flowers, others 
only pistillate ones. In a staminate ament 
of the pussy willow (S. discolor ) the writer 
has actually counted 270 flowers, and in a 
pistillate ament 142 flowers. The multi¬ 
tude of bright-yellow anthers renders the 
Pussy willow in seed. 
staminate blossoms very conspicuous. As 
an evidence of their attractiveness, it may 
be mentioned that they are used in Eng¬ 
land for decorating the churches on Palm 
Sunday, and are offered for sale in New 
England cities by street flower-venders. 
The flowers are formed the preceding sea¬ 
son, and appear in early spring before or 
with the leaves. 
All of our species furnish both pollen 
and nectar, but it would, of course, be 
useless to look for pollen on pistillate 
shrubs or trees. The nectar is freely se¬ 
creted in both kinds of flowers on the tips 
of minute flat glands, which in the pistil¬ 
late flowers may be found at the base of 
the ovarv. As our early willows attract 
great numbers of insects, the supply of 
nectar may be temporarily exhausted; but 
it should not be concluded, therefore, that 
it is wholly absent. If a branch of flow¬ 
ers be broken off and carried into the house 
and placed in water, and the nectaries ex¬ 
amined after 24 hours under a miscroscope, 
nectar will probably be found in abun¬ 
dance. 
The earliest willow to blossom in New 
England is the glaucous or pussy willow 
(Salix discolor). On a calm warm day the 
sweet odor may be detected several rods 
away, and a swarm of insects may be seen 
hovering about the bright-yellow sprays of 
bloom. Besides the honeybees there are 
female bumblebees, the only form of bum¬ 
blebee then on the wing, and great 
numbers of wild bees belonging to the 
genus Andrena gathering pollen for brood¬ 
rearing. Several species of these bees are 
never found on any other flowers than the 
willows. Then there are many flies and a 
few butterflies and beetles. Ants often 
climb the stems and rob the flowers of the 
nectar, which is quite plentiful. In Eng¬ 
land some willows are said to be visited by 
moths in the evening. 
The early-blooming willows are visited 
by large numbers of honeybees, both for 
pollen and nectar, and are of great value 
to the beekeeper. One of the commonest 
willows in the eastern States is the pussy 
willow, which is a large shrub growing on 
river banks. In Massachusetts it blooms 
along the last of March and early in April. 
In Georgia the black willow ( S. nigra)' 
grows along the streams thruout the State. 
It blooms in March, and in a few localities 
yields a surplus of honey of medium qual¬ 
ity. The black willow is also common in 
Golden willow. 
Texas, where it is valued both for pollen 
and honey. Other willows which are com¬ 
mon in the eastern States are S. sericea 
(silky willow) ; S. rostrata, and S. cor data. 
In California, Richter says, the willows 
