Wayside and woodland trees : $b a pocket guide to the British sylvaStep, Edward
Science
Wayside and woodland trees : $b a pocket guide to the British sylva
Step, Edward
Shrubs -- Great Britain; Trees -- Great Britain
The Lapland Willow (_Salix lapponum_) is of a similar proportion to the
last-named, sometimes erect, sometimes trailing. Its leaves are more
elliptic in shape, covered above with silky hairs and below with cottony
filaments. In _lanata_ the raised veins form a network pattern; in
_lapponum_ they are straight. The stipules at the base of the long
foot-stalk are small or altogether wanting. Like the preceding species,
it is restricted to Scotch Alpine rocks, at elevations between 2000 and
2700 feet.
The Whortle-leaved Willow (_Salix myrsinites_) is a small, wiry,
creeping, or half-erect shrub, six inches to a foot high, with toothed,
dark glossy leaves, an inch or less in length, whose net-veining shows
on both sides. It is restricted to the Alpine parts of mid-Scotland,
from 1000 to 2700 feet.
The Small Tree-Willow (_Salix arbuscula_) is a small shrub, whose stem
creeps along the ground and roots as it goes, sending up more or less
erect branches a foot or two high. The downy twigs are first yellow,
then reddish-brown. The small leaves vary from egg-shaped to
lance-shaped, and are shining above and glaucous beneath; toothed. In
the Highlands of Aberdeen, Argyll, Dumfries, Forfar, and Perth, between
1000 and 2400 feet.
The Least Willow (_Salix herbacea_) is not so restricted in its range,
for it is found in all parts of the United Kingdom where there are
heights sufficiently Alpine (2000 to 4300 feet) for its tastes. It is
only an inch or two high, and has consequently the distinction of being
the smallest British shrub. It is not so herbaceous as it seems, or as
its name implies, for its shrubby stem and branches creep along
underground, sending up only short, scantly leaved twigs. The curled,
roundish leaves do not exceed half an inch in length; they are
net-veined, toothed, and shining. The catkins appear after the leaves.
The Net-leaved Willow (_Salix reticulata_) is another of the Scotch
Alpines. It is similar in habit to the last-named, but larger, its
buried branches sending up twigs a foot long. The roundish-oblong,
leathery leaves are not toothed; they are smooth above and glaucous
beneath, strongly net-veined on either side. The purplish or yellow
catkins do not develop till after the leaves. It is restricted to the
mountains of Aberdeen, Forfar, Inverness, Perth, and Sutherland.
The Weeping Willow (_Salix babylonica_), so conspicuous an ornament of
riverside lawns, is an introduced species, whose slender branches hang
downwards. It has large, lance-shaped, finely toothed leaves, smooth
above and glaucous beneath. Further description of so well-known a tree
is unnecessary. It attains a height of forty to fifty feet. The name
_babylonica_ was bestowed in the belief that its headquarters were on
the banks of the Euphrates. It is now known to be a native of Japan, and
other parts of Asia.
The name Willow is the Anglo-Saxon _welig_, indicating pliancy,
willingness.
Our Native Conifers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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