Eng. Fl., 4. p. 225.; Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 122.; Hook. Br. Fl., ed. 3., p. 429.; Mackay FL. Hibern., pt. 1. p. 252. Synonymes. S. caprea Koch, part of, Koch Comm., p. 37. ; common Black Sallow, Saugh in Yorkshire, Grey Withy. Derivation. The name caprèa seems to have originated in the reputed fondness of goats for the catkins, as exemplified in the wooden cut of the venerable Tragus, their namesake. (Smith in Eng. Fl.) The Sexes. Both sexes are figured in Sal. Wob., and both in Hayne Abbild. Engravings. Hoffm. Sal., t. 3. f. 1., 2. t. 21. f. a. b. c. (Smith); Hayne Abbild., t. 192.; Eng. Bot., t. 1488.; Sal. Wob., No. 122. ; our fig. 1333., from the Sal. Wob.; and fig. 1334., representing the male, and fig. 1335. the female, both from Host's Sal. Aust., t. 66, 67.; and fig. 122. in p. 1626. 1333 Spec. Char.,&c. Stem erect. Leaves roundish-ovate, pointed, serrated, waved; pale and downy beneath. Stipules somewhat crescent-shaped. Catkins oval. Ovary stalked, ovate,silky. Stigmas nearly sessile, and undivided Capsules swelling. (Smith E. F.) A native of Britain, in woods and dry pastures, common; flowering in April and May. The following traits are derived from Smith's fuller description in his English Flora: -"A moderate-sized tree, with spreading, round, brown or purplish branches, minutely downy when young. Leaves larger and broader than in any other of the genus; of a deep green above, with a downy rib; white underneath, or rather glaucous, veiny, densely clothed with soft, white, cottony down; generallybroadly ovate, approaching to orbicular, with a sharp point; sometimes more elliptical, either rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base; varying in length from 2 in. to 1335 3 in.; the margin wavy, and more or less strongly serrated. Footstalks stout, downy. Catkins numerous, much earlier than the foliage, and almost sessile." This tree, Sir W. J. Hooker observes, "distinguishes itself, in the spring, by being loaded with handsome yellow blossoms before any of its leaves appear. The catkins," both of the male and the female, "are broader and shorter than in most of the species with crowded flowers." "This species," Mr. Forbes observes, "has several very valuable qualities. The bark serves the Highlanders for tanning, and is no indifferent substitute for the cinchona in agues. The wood, being white, tough, and smooth in grain, forms excellent hurdles, and good handles for hatchets. It is also used for charcoal, and in the manufacture of gunpowder, &c. The catkins are much resorted to by bees for honey." (Sal. Wob., p. 243.) According to Mitchell, it is the best underwood for coppices that we have. It makes good fences; and sheep-hurdles made of it will last a year or two longer than those made of hazel; and they will suit every situation, wet or dry. (Dendrologia, p. 56.) The flowering branches of this species are called palms, and are gathered by children on Easter Sunday; the relics of the Catholic ceremony formerly performed in commemoration of the entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem. (See Dr. Johnston's Flora of Berwick upon Tweed.) 98. S. SPHACELA'TA Smith. The withered-pointed-leaved Willow, Identification. Smith Fl. Br., p. 1066.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 702.; Smith in Rees's Cyclo., No. 125.; Spec. Char., &c. Stem erect. Leaves elliptic-obovate, even, veiny, entire, or slightly serrated; downy on both sides; discoloured at the point. Stipules half-heart-shaped, toothed, erect. Ovary stalked, ovate-lanceolate, silky. Stigmas notched, longer than the style. (Smith Eng. Fl.) A native of Britain; found, in Scotland, near the head of Loch Tay; and flowering in April and May. A small bushy tree, 5 ft. or 8 ft. high; the young branches very soft with dense, hoary, short, velvet-like down. Leaves, in like manner, soft and downy, especially when first opening; always of a greyish aspect; their shape obovate or elliptical, with a small oblique point; their length 14 in., perhaps 24 in. at their full growth; the margin either quite entire, or slightly, sparingly, and unequally serrated; the upper side light green, clothed with fine down, which finally disappears; under more downy, with a prominent rib and veins, hoary, not glaucous; the tip, from its earliest formation, nearly naked, green or brownish, soon looking as if blasted or withered, and assuming a tawny hue. The footstalks are shortish, and thickly downy. Catkins on short hairy stalks, 1 in. long when matured. Very distinct from every other British willow that Mr. Forbes has seen; and readily known by its whitish woolly leaves, which are always more or less marked with holes, and the larger ones of which are serrated in their adult state. Group xvii. Nigricantes Borrer. Shrubs with long Branches, or small Trees. Mostly Sallows. A group as difficult to define as are the kinds of which it is constituted. Stamens 2 to a flower. Ovary stalked, glabrous or silky. Style more or less 2-cleft. In leaves, many of the kinds approach those of the group Cinèreæ very nearly, having ovate or obovate ones; but the leaves are less wrinkled. Plants shrubs with long branches, or small trees. (Hook. Br. Fl., ed. 2.) The term Nigricántes has been applied to this group, not, as it has been supposed, in allusion to the leaves of the kinds of which it is constituted turning black in drying, but to mark their affinity to S. nígricans Smith, a well-known individual of their number. (Borrer in Eng. Bot. Suppl., t. 2795.) In this case, it may be supposed that the characters of S. nigricans Smith are pretty well representative of those of each of the kinds of the group. Some of the characters of S. nigricans Smith are described below, No. 108. According to Mr. Borrer (Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2729,) it is doubtful, in application to almost every kind of the group, whether it is a species or not. It is shown, under the preceding group, that Mr. Borrer professes himself not acquainted with all the kinds of that group and this; and that he may, therefore, have placed some of them wrongly. It may interest the lovers of broad grounds of distinction in species to know that Koch, who has applied this principle to the willows, has included several of the kinds in this group, which are treated below as distinct species, in one species. Under his species S. phylicifòlia, he has cited S. phylicifolia Lin. Sp. Pl., ii. 1442., Willd. Sp. Pl., iv. p. 659., exclusively of the synonyme of Smith, Wahlenb. Ft. Lapp., No. 482.; S. stylòsa Dec.; S. stylàris Seringe; S. hastàta Hoppe; and S. hýbrida Hoffm.; as synonymes: and the following as being still the species, under a more or less varied form, — S. nigricans Smith, S. Ammanniana Willd., S. Andersoniana Smith, S. spirææfòlia Willd. ex Link, S. rupestris Smith, S. Forsteriana Smith, S. hírta Smith, S. cotinifolia Smith, and S. ulmifòlia Hort. Berol. He has intimated, besides, that several of the kinds distinguished by Schleicher also belong to this species. Dr. Lindley, in his Synopsis of the British Flora, where he has followed Koch wholly, has added to Koch's S. phylicifòlia the kinds S. damascèna Forbes and S. Borreriana Smith, Relatively to the principle of rendering species in the willows thus comprehensive, Mr. Borrer makes the following remark in Eng. Bot. Suppl., t. 2702.: :-" We have repeatedly disclaimed all dogmatical decision as to what are species among the willows; nor have we ever denied the probability that many of those which, in the present state of our knowledge, we think it expedient to propose as distinct may be, in reality, mere seminal varieties or hybrids. This being admitted, the further admission can scarcely be withheld, that those botanists may possibly be correct in their views who regard, in some instances, as species what we are accustomed to regard as sections of the genus." Mr. Borrer has added, "Of these facilè princeps is Koch, whose lucid De Salicibus Europæis Commentatio displays a most intimate acquaintance with his subject." With regard to the details of Koch's adjudication of the abovecited species S. phylicifòlia, Mr. Borrer gives the following corrective notices, which, for the sake of accuracy, we give below: Under S. damascena Forbes, Eng. Bot. Suppl., t. 2709., it is remarked, "Koch would, no doubt, refer S. damascena, as he does its affinities, S. Andersoniana, S. nígricans, &c., to Wahlenberg's S. phylicifòlia; but those botanists would scarcely have appropriated the name to willows of this set, had they been aware of the fact that the original Lapland specimen of S. phylicifolia in the Linnæan herbarium is indubitably, as was long since stated by Smith, the S. phylicifolia of Eng. Bot., t. 1958. This last is united by Koch, with numerous affinities, to S. arbúscula of Wahlenberg, which he regards as the S. arbúscula of the Linnæan Flora Suecica." Under S. tenuifòlia Smith this remark occurs in Eng. Bot. Suppl., t. 2795. :- "S. tenuifòlia and S. rupéstris are so nearly allied, that we cannot undertake to point out satisfactory distinctions; yet Koch places S. tenuifòlia under S. arbúscula, and S. rupéstris under S. phylicifolia." Under S. petræ a Eng. Bot. Suppl., t. 2725., is this remark: It is surely by error that Koch has placed S. petræ a under his S. arbúscula, with S. phylicifòlia of Smith; and not under his own S. phylicifòlia, with S. Ammanniana and its affinities." 66 99. S. AUSTRALIS Forbes. The southern Sallow, or Willow. Identification. Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 103. The Sexes. The female is described and figured in Sal. Wob. Engravings. Sal. Wob., No. 103.; and our fig. 103. in p. 1621. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical, acute, slightly serrated; glaucous beneath. Stipules large, heart-shaped, serrated, and downy. Catkins appearing before the leaves. Ovary glabrous, stalked. Styles longer than the divided stigmas. (Sal. Wob., p. 205.) A native of Switzerland. Introduced in 1824, and flowering in April and May. A low, upright, bushy shrub, with reddish brown downy branches. The leaves from 1 in. to 2 in. in length, and about 1 in. in breadth; of an ovate-elliptic shape, acute at the point; their margins slightly serrated; upper surface dull green, and a little downy; beneath, glaucous, and more downy, but ultimately becoming nearly glabrous, particularly at the latter end of the season. Catkins on short stalks, erect; about 1 in. long. "Unfit for any useful purpose." (Forbes.) There are plants at Woburn, Henfield, and Flitwick, and also in the Hackney arboretum. 100. S. VAUDE'NSIS Forbes. The Vaudois Sallow, or Willow. Identification. Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 117. The Sexes. The female is described and figured in Sal. Wob, Engravings. Sal. Wob., No. 117.; and our fig. 117. in p. 1624. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical, serrated; dark green, shining and villous above; glaucous, reticulated, and pubescent beneath. Stipules rounded, toothed. Branches reddish, downy. Ovary ovate, stalked, downy. Style rather longer than the parted stigmas. (Sal. Wob., p. 233.) A native of Switzerland. Introduced in ?1824, and flowering in March and April. A low, spreading, bushy shrub, with slender, round, downy branches, which are at first reddish, but become of a dark sooty brown colour after the first year. Leaves elliptical, somewhat obovate, with oblique points, entire towards the base, serrated above; lower leaves small, rounded, slightly crenate, and becoming ultimately nearly glabrous; upper ones dull green and villous above; but glaucous and reticulated with large prominent veins beneath, and downy. The young ones are purplish, on luxuriant shoots, above 2 in. long and lin. in breadth, but in their general habit little more than 1 in. in length; all of rather a thin texture, losing their pubescence when nearly full grown. Footstalks of a middling size, downy and purplish. Catkins above 1 in. in length. A very distinct kind. There are plants at Woburn and Flitwick, and in the Hackney and Goldworth arboretums. 101. S. GRISOPHY'LLA Forbes. The grey-leaved Willow, or Sallow. Identification. Sal. Wob., No. 1191. The Sexes. The male is described and figured in Sal. Wob. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical, acute, denticulated; shining above, reticulated and downy beneath. Stipules large, half-heart-shaped, serrated, pubescent, Catkins nearly 1 in. long, obtuse, on short thick stalks. Bracteas elliptic and silky. (Sal. Wob., p. 237.) A native of Switzerland. Introduced in 1824, and flowering in April and May. This is a strong-growing plant; the branches round, hairy, of a reddish brown colour, and somewhat angular when young. Buds large, purplish when fully grown. Leaves from 24in. to 3 in. long, and 11⁄2 in. broad; rounded at the base; above, dull green and shining, besprinkled with many minute hairs; beneath, pubescent, reticulated, and of a whitish hue, with denticulated margins; the substance of the leaves of a thick coriaceous texture. Footstalks nearly in. long, of a purple colour, and much dilated at the base. Catkins nearly 1 in. long when fully expanded; bursting forth before the expansion of the leaves. There are plants at Woburn and Flitwick; also in the Hackney arbore tum. 102. S. LACU'STRIS Forbes. The Lake Willow, or Sallow. Identification. Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 116. The Sexes. The female is described and figured in Sal. Wob. Engravings. Sal. Wob., No. 116.; and our fig. 116. in p. 1624. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical, serrated; dull green and villous above; glaucous, reticulated, and pubescent beneath. Stipules half-heart-shaped, serrated, often cloven. Ovary stalked, awl-shaped, glabrous. Style twice the length of the ovate notched stigmas. (Sal. Wob., p. 231.) A native of Switzerland. Introduced in 1824, and flowering in March. A stragglinggrowing shrub, with round, dark, villous, pendulous branches, greyish brown when young, and thickly covered with a short pubescence, which continues on the preceding year's shoots. Leaves serrated, elliptical; dull green, villous above; glaucous, pubescent, and reticulated with prominent veins beneath; entire at the base, with short oblique points. Footstalks brown above, pale and downy beneath, like the midrib. Catkins from 1 in. to 1 in. long. Readily distinguished from S. crassifòlia by its pendulous branches and bushy mode of growth. There are plants at Woburn, Henfield, and Flitwick; also in the Hackney and Goldworth arboretums. 103. S. CRASSIFO`LIA Forbes. The thick-leaved Willow, or Sallow. Identification. Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 115. The Sexes. The female is described and figured in Sal. Wob. Engravings. Sal. Wob., No. 115.; and fig. 115. in p. 1624. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate-elliptical, often heart-shaped at the base, pointed, bluntly serrated, pubescent, glaucous beneath. Branches downy. Stipules half-heart-shaped, serrated. Ovary ovate lanceolate, glabrous. Style longer than the obtuse stigmas. (Sal. Wob., p. 229.) A foreign species; but the date of its introduction is not stated. It flowers, in the Woburn collection, in April and May. A bushy shrub, about 9 ft. or 10 ft. high, with dark green downy branches, very soft to the touch when young. Leaves from Iin. to 1 in. broad, distinctly and bluntly serrated; the serratures somewhat glandular; upper surface dark green, shining, and pubescent; beneath, glaucous, veiny, and reticulated with many prominent veins: the substance of the leaves is thick, and rather coriaceous. Footstalks stout, downy, dilated at the base. Catkins appearing before the leaves; at first short, but ultimately 2 in. long. Nearly allied to S. cotinifòlia; but differing from it in the thickness and downiness of its leaves, as well as in its obtuse stigmas and nectary. It also grows much stronger, and the branches are more brittle. There are plants at Woburn and Flitwick; also in the Hackney arboretum. 104. S. COTINIFOLIA Smith. The Cotinus, or Quince, leaved Sallow, or Willow. Identification. Smith Fl. Br., p. 1066.; Eng. Bot., t. 1403.; Rees's Cyclo., No. 120.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 702.; Eng. Fl., 4. p. 220.; Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 114.; Hook. Br. Fl., ed. 3., p. 450. Synonymes. S. spadicea Villars's Dauph., 3777.; S. phylicifolia var. Koch Comm., p. 42. The Sexes. The female is described in Eng. Fl., and figured in Eng. Bot. and Sal. Wob. Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1403.; Sal. Wob., No. 114.; our fig. 1336.; and fig. 114. in p. 1624. Spec. Char., &c. Stem erect. Branches spreading, downy. Leaves broadly elliptical, nearly orbicular, slightly toothed, glaucous and downy, with rectangular veins beneath. Style as long as the linear notched stigmas. (Smith Eng. Fl.) A native of Britain, in woods and on the banks of rivers; about 2 ft. high, but sometimes, if sheltered, attaining the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft.; always upright, with straight, round, brown, downy, moderately spreading branches. Leaves 1 in. or 14 in. long, and lin. wide; flat, broadly elliptical, frequently almost orbicular, with a broad sharp point; the base rounded or obtuse, the margins beset with very shallow serratures, or, more generally, with small glandular teeth; upper side of a dull green, 1336 |