CHAP. cm.

SAUCA'CEAl. .Va'LIX.

1563

3in.; the margin wavy,and more or less strongly serrated. Footstalksstout, downy. Catkins numerous, much earlier than the foliage, andalmost sessile.” This tree, Sir W. J. Hooker observes, “ distinguishes itself,in the spring, by being loaded with handsome yellow blossoms before any ofits leaves appear. The catkins,” both of the male and the female, “are broaderand shorter than in most of the species with crowded flowers.” “ This species,”Mr. Forbes observes, “ has several very valuable qualities. The bark servesthe Highlanders for tanning, and is no indifferent substitute for the cinchonain agues. The wood, being white, tough, and smooth in grain, forms excellenthurdles, and good handles for hatchets. It is also used for charcoal, andin the manufacture of gunpowder, &c. The catkins are much resorted toby bees for honey.” (Sal. Wob., p. 243.) According to Mitchell, it is thebest underwood for coppices that we have. It makes good fences; andsheep-hurdles made of it will last a year or two longer than those made ofhazel; and they will suit every situation, wet or dry. ( Dendrologia , p. 56.)The flowering branches of this species are called palms, and are gathered bychildren on Easter Sunday ; the relics of the Catholic ceremony formerlyperformed in commemoration of the entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem .(See Dr. Johnston's Flora of Berwick upon Tweed.)

a 98. S. sphacela'ta Smith. The withered -pointed-leaved Willow,or Sallow .

Identification. Smith FI Br., p. 1066.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 702.; Smith in Rees’s Cyclo., No. 125.:Eng. Bot., t. 2333.; Eng. Fi., 4. p. 224, j Forbes in Sal Wob., No. 121. ; Hook. Br. FI., ed. 3., p.429.

Synonymes. S. caprea var. Koch Comm., p. 38. j S. cSprea 3 Wahl. Carp at., p, 319. “ I received S.sphacelata Smith , for the S. populifblia Schleicher .” ( Forbes in Sal. Wob.)

The Sexes. Both sexes are described in Eng. FI., and figured in Eng. Bot. and in Sal. Wob.

Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 2333. j Sal. Wob., No. 121. j and Jig. 121. in p. 1625.

Spec. Char., fyc. Stem erect. Leaves elliptic-obovate, even, veiny, entire, orslightly 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. FI.) A native ofBritain; found, in Scotland , near the head of Loch Tay; and flowering inApril and May. A small bushy tree, 5 ft. or 8 ft. high; the young branchesvery 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 lengthIA in., perhaps 2Ain. at their full growth; the margin either quite entire, orslightly, sparingly, and unequally serrated; the upper side light green, clothedwith fine down, which finally disappears ; under more downy, with a pro-minent 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, ljin. long when matured. Very distinctfrom every other British willow that Mr. Forbes has seen ; and readilyknown by its whitish woolly leaves, which are always more or less markedwith 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.

J- 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 orcss 2-cleft. In leaves, many of the kinds approach those of the groupUneres very nearly, having ovate or obovate ones; but the leaves are lesswimkled. Plants shrubs with long branches, or small trees. (Hook. Br.•, ed. 2.) The term Nigricantes has been applied to this group, not, as it