The Eared Sallow (_S. aurita_) is probably also only another form of _S. caprea_, distinguished by its small, bushlike proportions (two to four feet high), long branches and red twigs; its small wrinkled leaves, which are usually less than two inches long, are of an almost oblong shape, downy beneath, and with large ear-shaped stipules. Its likeness is much closer to _S. cinerea_ than to the type; it is fond of damp copses and moist places on heaths, where it may be found at considerable elevations. In the Highlands it ascends to 2000 feet. There are Willows of dwarf habit, some with long straggling branches and more or less prostrate stems, that grow upon heaths. Each has a name under which it has at some time or other been ranked as a distinct species, just as the forms of Bramble and Rose have been. The differences between them are minute, and of little interest save to the advanced scientific botanist, who with his dried specimens spread before him often detects subtle distinctions not apparent to the outdoor student of the living plant. For the purposes of those for whom this volume is intended they may be regarded as one. Dwarf Silky Willow (_Salix repens_). It is a low bush from six to twelve inches high, the stem lying along the ground. Some of the branches straggle in the same fashion, but those which bear the flowers are more or less erect. The leaf-buds and the young leaves are silky, a condition that usually endures on the lower surface, and in some forms on the upper also. They are broadly or narrowly lance-shaped, varying in the different forms alluded to above; in size they range from a half to one and a half inches in length, and may have lance-shaped stipules, or none at all. The scales of the catkins are yellowish-green or purple, with dark tips. After they have shed their pollen the anthers turn black. One form or other of this species will be found in all parts of the British Islands where there are heaths or commons; in the Highlands it occurs as high as 2500 feet. Another group of small Willows that form bushes (rarely a small tree) have been united under two species--the Dark-leaved Willow (_Salix nigricans_), and the Tea-leaved Willow (_Salix phylicifolia_). None of them occur south of Yorkshire, and the chief distinction between the two species (?) consists in the leaves of _S. nigricans_ turning black when being dried for the herbarium, whilst those of _S. phylicifolia_ do not. [Illustration: Osier.]