S A L I X h e rb a c e a .
Least Willow.
DIOECIA Diandria.
Gen. Char. Male, Cal. the scales of a catkin. Cor.
none. Ne ctary a gland at the base of the stamina.
Stam. 1-—-5. Female, Cal. and Nect. like the male.
Cor. none. Stigmas 2. Caps, superior, of 1 cell
and 2 valves. Seeds downy.
Spec. Char. Leaves orbicular, serrated, reticulated with
veins, very smooth and shining on both sides.
Capsules smooth.
S yn. Salix herbacea. Linn. Sp. PI. 144 5. FI. L app,
ed. 2. 2 9 4 . | 8 . / . h. t. 7 . f 3 , 4. " Sm. FI. B r it.
1 0 5 6 . Huds. 4 2 7 . W ith . 43. Hull. 2 1 8 .
L ig h t/. 6 0 0 . FI. Dan. t. 1 1 7 .' Hoffm. Sal. v. 1.
7 4 . t. 2 0 .
S. alpina, alni rotundo folio repens. D ill, in R a il
Syn. 4 4 8 .
T h i s -is one of the least of all shrubs, for being a Willow it
is certainly a shrub, and the stems, short as they are, being
Scarcely an inch or two high, are truly woody and perennial.
• The woody roots are of greater extent, creeping and running
deep into the rocky micaceous soil which this species inhabits
about the tops of the highest mountains of Scotland, Wales
and Cumberland. We have gathered it'on Ben Lomond. It
blossoms in June, and the capsules ripen in August.
Leaves on short footstalks, as correctly orbicular as in almost
any plant, serrated all round, sometimes emarginate,
very smooth, shining, reticulated, rather rigid, deciduous. We
have found no stipulas. Catkins terminal, solitary, on short
stalks, lemon-coloured, ovate. Scales obovate, internally hairy
in the male only, as far as we can perceive., Nectary of 2
ovate glands. Stamens distinct. Germen nearly sessile, ovate,
taper, smooth, reddish as it ripens. Style very short. Stigmas
small, deeply cloven.