Form and size: It grows to large size. Range: Asia and Europe and naturalized in eastern United States. Soil and location: Prefers moist places near streams and ponds. Enemies: None of importance. Value for planting: The weeping willow has a special ornamental effect in cemeteries and along lakes and river banks in parks. Commercial value: It is used in the United States for charcoal and for fuel. Comparisons: The _pussy willow_ (_Salix discolor_) may easily be told from the other willows by its small size; it is often no higher than a tall shrub. Its branches are _reddish green_ and the buds are dark red, smooth and glossy. The predominating color of the twigs and buds in the pussy willow is therefore a shade of _red_, while in the weeping willow it is _yellowish green_. GROUP VII. TREES TOLD BY THEIR BARK OR TRUNK: SYCAMORE, BIRCH, BEECH, BLUE BEECH, IRONWOOD, AND HACKBERRY How to tell them from other trees: The _color of the bark or the form of the trunk_ of each of the trees in this group is distinct from that of any other tree. How to tell them from each other: In the sycamore, the bark is _mottled_; in the white birch, it is _dull white_; in the beech, it is _smooth and gray_; in the hackberry, it is covered with numerous _corky warts_; in the blue beech, the trunk of the tree is _fluted_, as in Fig. 54, and in the ironwood, the bark _peels_ in thin perpendicular strips. [Illustration: FIG. 48.--Bark of the Sycamore Tree.] THE SYCAMORE OR PLANE TREE (_Platanus occidentalis_) Distinguishing characters: The peculiar *mottled appearance* of the *bark* (Fig. 48) in the trunk and large branches is the striking character here. The bark produces this effect by shedding in large, thin, brittle plates. The newly exposed bark is of a yellowish green color which often turns nearly white later on. *Round seed balls*, about an inch in diameter, may be seen hanging on the tree all winter. In this species, the seed balls are usually solitary, while in the Oriental sycamore, a European tree similar to the native one, they appear in clusters of two, or occasionally of three or four. See Fig. 49. [Illustration: FIG. 49.--Seed-balls of the Oriental Sycamore. Note one Seed-ball cut in half.] [Illustration: FIG. 50.--Gray or White Birch Trees.] Leaf: The stem of the leaf completely covers the bud. This is a characteristic peculiar to sycamores. Form and size: A large tree with massive trunk and branches and a broad head. Range: Eastern and southern United States. Soil and location: Prefers a deep rich soil, but will adapt itself even to the poor soil of the city street.