WILLOW.
729
£
Salix Russelliana.Fig. 144.
^. at ^itteni es s, combined with astringency. The following are thosec h are in the greatest repute :—
Fig. 143. 1. Sa'lix Russelliana, Smith; the Bed-
ford Willow.—Leaves lanceolate, taperingat each end, serrated throughout, verysmooth. Footstalks glandular or leafy.Germen tapering, stalked, longer than thescales. Style as long as the stigmas (Smith).A tree. In marshy woods, wet meadows,&c., in various parts of Britain . Flowers inApril and May. Its bark abounds in tannicacid. On account of its astringency, SirJ. E. Smith regards it as the most valuableofficinal species; and he observes, that if ithas occasionally disappointed medical prac-titioners, they probably chanced in suchcases to give the S.fragilis.
2 . Sa'lix al'ba, Linn., D.; the CommonWhite Willow.—Leaves elliptic-lanceolate,pointed, serrated, silky on both sides; thelowest serratures glandular. Stamens hairy.Germen smooth, almost sessile. Stigmasdeeply cloven. Scales rounded (Smith). Atall tree. River-sides, moist woods, &c.,in various parts of Britain . Flowers in May.Its bark, called cortex salignum, or cortexanglicanum of some writers, is astringent,but less so than that of the precedingspecies.
3. Sa'lix Ca'prea, Linn., E. D.; GreatRound-leaved Willow . — Stem erect. Leavesroundish-ovate, pointed, serrated, waved;
Stipules somewhat crescent-shaped. Catkins<: 0 f Ccrmen stalked, ovate, silky. Stigmas nearly sessile, undivided,swelling (Smith). Tree. Indigenous, very common ; growing4 and hedges. Flowers in April.
^ a '^ x frag'ilis, Linn. D.; the Crack Willow. — Leaves ovate-lan-'l„l a a r te > pointed, serrated throughout, very smooth. Footstalks glan-*b 0 . Qermen ovate, abrupt, nearly sessile, smooth. Scales oblong,«tjj e e (lual to the stamens and pistils. Stigmas cloven, longer than the\ ^mith). Tree. Indigenous : about the banks of rivers. Flowers. >1,and May.
is oj-j .* 5 . 0 Lw pent an dr a, Linn.; Siveet Bay-leaved Willow. —This species^r.v,i Cllla l in the Prussian Pharmacopoeia, and is preferred by Nees vone _ c k to all other species. Its bark is the cortex salicis laurew of
° v al atl< ^ downy beneath
^Oi
Hie
e.
Pharmacologists.
^ ooZia? purpu'rea, Linn.; Bitter Purple Willow .—This species de-I) ' Entice on account of the intense bitterness of its bark.
. Soki ptio\.—W illow bark (cortex salicis) varies, in its appearancel u alities, according to the species and the age of the tree from which