ri
7 4 4
For small gardens and diminutive arborctums, this tree may
serve very well to exemplify the Juglandaceae. Care should
be taken to train it to a single stem, and not to plant it in
soil so rich and moist as to ¡jrcvcnt it from ripening its wood.
Perha|)s, also, something liiiglit be gaineil in point of hardiness
by grafting it upon tho common walnut; either on the
collar of the stock, in order to form dwarf trees or bushes; 'te/-'
or standard high, in order to form trees that would from the
first liave clear straight stems, and as they would ri|)cn their
wood better, in consequence of growing slower than the
low trees or bnslies, so they would perhaps sliow blossoms
and ripen fruit. 1132. P. cauciisica.
O rder LXVIII. SALICA'CE/E.
OliD. Char. Flowers unisexual, disposed in aments, one in the axil of each
scale.—Male jiowers dis})osod in cylindrical catkins, with a small gland-like
perianth, and from 2—30 stamens, wliicli are sub-adnate to the gland,
generally distinct, rarely monadelphous.—Female fiowers disposed in dense
ovate or cylindrical catkins, each with a free simple perianth. Ovarium
superior. Style 1. Stigmas 2, often bifid. Capsule 1-ceIlcd, 2-valved,
many-seeded. Seeds snuvll, pendulous, downy. Alhmncn none. (G. Don.)
Leaves simple, alternate, sti[)ulate, deciduous ; serratetl or entire. Flowers
in catkins. Decaying leaves yellow or black. — Trees deciduous ; natives
of Europe, Asia, and North America,
The genera are two, which are
thus cliaractcriscd : -
NaT-ix L . Bracteas entire. Stamens 1—3.
ifò'puLUs L. Bracteas jagged. Stamens 8.
G fnus I.
JiL-
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•
¿A LIX L. T he W illow. Lin. Syst. Dioe'cia Diandria.
I ’t.-dification. I.in. Gen., .514. ; Juss., 408; Smith in Rees’s Cyolo., vol. 31. : Fl. Br., 1039. : Tourn.,
t. 3()4. ; Lam., t. 802. ; Gærtn., t. 90.
Synonymes. Ilarab, Hebrew ; Itca, Gr. ; Salix, Lat. ; Saule, Fr. ; Woide and Fdbor, Gr. \ Salcio,
Ital. ; Sauze, Span. \ Wide, Swed. ; Wilge, Flem.\ Withig, Anglo-Sax. ; Willow, Withy, Sallow,
Osier, Engl. ; Saugh, Scotch.
Derivation. From sal, near, and ¡is, water, Celtic ¡ in reference to its general habitat. According
to others, from salire, to leap ; on account of the extraordinary rapidity of its growth.
Gen. Char., 4c. Bractea to the flower of each sex entire.—Male fiower
consisting of 1—5 stamens, more in a few species, and of one or more
glands inserted contiguously to the stamens.—Female flower consisting of
a pi.stil that is stalked or sessile, or nearly sessile, and one or more glands
inserted contiguously to it. (Cf. Don.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; more or less lanceolate
and serrated. Flowers yellow. Decaying leaves mostly yellow.— Trees
or shrubs, deciduous ; natives of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America;
readily [iropagatcil by cuttings in any moist soil.
The. sapnecies vary from 2 or 3 inches to 50 or 60 feet, ami even to 80 or 90
feet in heiaht. The branches are round and flexible ; the leaves m all cases
deciduous, and the sexes, with scarcely any exceptions, on diflerent plant.s.
Tlie apnearance of the male plant and thc Iemale plant, ol the same sjmcies,
i.s tTenerallv niore or less different ; and hence one oi the great difficulties in
the^studv of this genus, the species of which may be described as m a state
of inextricable confusion. The growth of the dwarfest species, such as S.
herbácea, is slow, and, in its native habitat, not above 1 in. a year, and often
™,f so much ; tliat of the larger shruhs, in their native habitats, varies fiom
5 or 6 inches to as many feet, especially wlien the plants are young or newly
cut down The growth of some of the kinds cultivated for basket-making or
boons In good soil, when cut down every year or every two years, is often
IVoin 8 ft. to 12 ft. in a single season. Thc growth of the tree kinds, more
esiieciallv of S. álba and S. Russelliràa, is equally rapid when young ; so that
ill ten years, in the climate of London, in suitable soil, and withm reach of
water, these kinds will attain thc height of 50 or 60 feet. The branches of
most of the tree kinds have an upward direction, and have a flame-like motion
in the wind, as in S. álba ; but in others they are spreading, as in S. caprea ; and,
in one instance, drooping in a very decided manner, as in S. babylonica.
Almost all the willows arc found naturally either in a cold soil and moist
climate, or, if in a sandy soil, within reach of water. The low-growing kinds
m-esoimtiims, howeveV, found in dry arid soils; but in such sods they ale
never in a thriving state. Willows are very seidom found growing on mo st
neat bogs ; the only species observed in such situations by Steele being the
5’ càprea and the S. pentáiidra, and these only sparingly m peat bog that was
drv All the willows arc propagated by cuttings ; though some ot the more
rar! alpine kinds root with difficulty. Some specms propagate very readily
from seeds ; and there can be little doubt that grafting, marching, and other
similar modes of proiiagution, would be as successful m this genus as m
'"'rhe best kinds of willow for growing as timber trees arc -.—-S. álba, which will
attain the height of from 60 ft. to 80 ft. in 20 years. A. Russe h « « and A.
frágilis, which arc frequently confounded ; and, indeed, m external a|ipeaiance,
differ verv slightly from each other except in size: S. KLissclhanrt growing as
rapidly, af.d to a! great a Iieight, as S. álba ; but S. fragilis, though it grows
with equal rapidity, not attaining so great a height. S. caprea, and some of its
allied kinds, which grow as rapidly as S. frágilis ior three or four years ; and
will attain nearly the same height as that species in the same time ; that is, on
.mod soil, from 30 ft. to « ft. in twenty years : acconling to Bosc, A. caprea
fs the most valuable of all the tree willows grown in France. Other willows
which attain a timber-like size, or ahotit 30 or 40 feet m twenty years, are,
S. triàndra, S. rotundàta, A. lùcida, A. Meyeri««, A. præ cox, A. Pontedera««,
S acuminata, S. pentandra, S. vitellina, and b. onngdalina. Many ot the
other species, in good soil, if allowed sufficient room, and trained to a single
stem, would attain the size and character of trees ; but with a view to Umber,
the four species first mentioned, viz. S. álba, S. Russelha««, S. fragilis, and
A. càprea, are alone worth cultivating. The best sorts for coppice-wood are
5. càprea and its allied kinds. „ , , , , .
Almost all the species of willows may be grown for basket rods, but some
are greatly preferable to others. The most vigorous-growing basket willow
is, iinquestionably, A. viminàlis ; and it is also the sort most generally cultivated
for that purpose. It has no disadvantage that we are aware of, except
that in cold wet seasons, and in a moist soil, it docs not always npen the
points of its shoots. A. riibra, A. Forby«««, A. d/ipiens, and A sHpularis ale
excellent species, of less vigorous growth than A. vmiinahs, which ripen tim
points of their shoots perfectly in most seasons : the b e / of these is,
perhaps, A. Forhyd««. A. triàndra is nearly as vigorous as S. vinimalis. A.
helix, A. vitellina, and A. purpùrea are very desirable species where small
; ¡
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