Chapter I: A Outlines of leaflets with two or three teeth at base. Ailanthus (2)

Inflorescence appearing with or before the leaves; flowers with entire bracts and one or two small glands; disks wanting; stamens few.

=Populus tremuloides, Michx.=

POPLAR. ASPEN.

=Habitat and Range.=--In all soils and situations except in deep swamps, though more usual in dry uplands; sometimes springing up in great abundance in clearings or upon burnt lands.

Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia to the Hudson bay region
and Alaska.

New England,--common, reaching in the White mountain region an altitude of 3000 feet.

South to New Jersey, along the mountains in Pennsylvania and
Kentucky, ascending 3000 feet in the Adirondacks; west to the
slopes of the Rocky mountains, along which it extends to Mexico and
Lower California.

=Habit.=--A graceful tree, ordinarily 35-40 feet and not uncommonly 50-60 feet high; trunk 8-15 inches in diameter, tapering, surmounted by a very open, irregular head of small, spreading branches; spray sparse, consisting of short, stout, leafy rounded shoots set at a wide angle; distinguished by the slenderness of its habit, the light color of trunk and branches, the deep red of the sterile catkins in early spring, and the almost ceaseless flutter of the delicate foliage.

=Bark.=--Trunk pale green, smooth, dark-blotched below the branches, becoming ash-gray and roughish in old trees; season's shoots dark reddish-brown or green, shining; bitter.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds 1/8-1/4 inch long, reddish-brown and lustrous, usually smooth, ovate, acute, often slightly incurved at apex, the upper often appressed. Leaves 1-2-1/2 inches long, breadth usually equal to or exceeding the length, yellowish-green and ciliate when young, dark dull green above when mature, lighter beneath, glabrous on both sides, bright yellow in autumn; outline broadly ovate to orbicular, finely serrate or wavy-edged, with incurved, glandular-tipped teeth, apex rather abruptly acute or short-acuminate; base acute, truncate or slightly heart-shaped, 3-nerved; leafstalk slender, strongly flattened at right angles to the plane of the blade, bending to the slightest breath of air; stipules lanceolate, silky, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile catkins 1-3 inches long, fertile at first about the same length, gradually elongating; bracts cut into several lanceolate or linear divisions, silky-hairy; stamens about 10; anthers red: ovary short-stalked; stigmas two, 2-lobed, red.

=Fruit.=--June. Capsules, in elongated catkins, conical; seeds numerous, white-hairy.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England in the most exposed situations; grows almost anywhere, but prefers a moist, rich loam; grows rapidly; foliage and spray thin; generally short-lived; often used as a screen for slow-growing trees; type seldom found in nurseries, but one or two horticultural forms are occasionally offered. Propagated from seed or cuttings.

1. Branch with sterile catkins.
2. Sterile flower.
3. Branch with fertile catkins.
4. Fertile flower.
5. Fruiting branch.
6. Branch with mature leaves.
7. Variant leaves.

=Populus grandidentata, Michx.=

POPLAR. LARGE-TOOTHED ASPEN.

=Habitat and Range.=--In rich or poor soils; woods, hillsides, borders of streams.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec, and Ontario.

New England,--common, occasional at altitudes of 2000 feet or more.

South to Pennsylvania and Delaware, along the mountains to
Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee; west to Minnesota.

=Habit.=--A tree 30-45 feet in height and 1 foot to 20 inches in diameter at the ground, sometimes attaining much greater dimensions; trunk erect, with an open, unsymmetrical, straggling head; branches distant, small and crooked; branchlets round; spray sparse, consisting of short, stout, leafy shoots; in time and manner of blossoming, constant motion of foliage, and general habit, closely resembling _P. tremuloides._

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk on old trees dark grayish-brown or blackish, irregularly furrowed, broad-ridged, the outer portions separated into small, thickish scales; trunk of young trees soft greenish-gray; branches greenish-gray, darker on the underside; branchlets dark greenish-gray, roughened with leaf-scars; season's twigs in fall dark reddish-brown, at first tomentose, becoming smooth and shining.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds 1/8 inch long, mostly divergent, light chestnut, more or less pubescent, dusty-looking, ovate, acute. Leaves 3-5 inches long, two-thirds as wide, densely white-tomentose when opening, usually smooth on both sides when mature, dark green above, lighter beneath, bright yellow in autumn; outline roundish-ovate, coarsely and irregularly sinuate-toothed; teeth acutish; sinuses in shallow curves; apex acute; base truncate or slightly heart-shaped; leafstalks long, strongly flattened at right angles to the plane of the blade; stipules thread-like, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--March to April. Sterile catkins 1-3 inches long, fertile at first about the same length, but gradually elongating; bracts cut into several lanceolate divisions, silky-hairy; stamens about 10; anthers red: ovaries short-stalked; stigmas two, 2-lobed, red.

=Fruit.=--Fruiting catkins at length 3-6 inches long; capsule conical, acute, roughish-scurfy, hairy at tip: seeds numerous, hairy.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows almost anywhere, but prefers moist, rich loam; grows rapidly and is safely transplanted, but is unsymmetrical, easily broken by the wind, and short-lived; seldom offered by nurserymen, but readily procured from northern collectors of native plants. Useful to grow for temporary effect with permanent trees, as it will fail by the time the desirable kinds are well established. Propagated from seed or cuttings.

=Note.=--Points of difference between _P. tremuloides_ and _P. grandidentata_. These trees may be best distinguished in early spring by the color of the unfolding leaves. In the sunlight the head of _P. tremuloides_ appears yellowish-green, while that of _P. grandidentata_ is conspicuously cotton white. The leaves of _P. grandidentata_ are larger and more coarsely toothed, and the main branches go off usually at a broader angle. The buds of _P. grandidentata_ are mostly divergent, dusty-looking, dull; of _P. tremuloides_, mostly appressed, highly polished with a resinous lustre.

1. Branch with sterile catkins.
2. Sterile flower, back view,
3. Sterile flower, front view.
4. Branch with fertile catkins.
5. Bract of fertile flower.
6. Fertile flower, front view.
7. Fruiting branch with mature leaves.
8. Fruit.
9. Fruit.

=Populus heterophylla, L.=

POPLAR. SWAMP POPLAR. COTTONWOOD.

=Habitat and Range.=--In or along swamps occasionally or often overflowed; rare, local, and erratically distributed.

Connecticut,--frequent in the southern sections; Bozrah (J. N. Bishop); Guilford, in at least three wood-ponds (W. E. Dudley _in lit._), New Haven, and near Norwich (W. A. Setchell).

Following the eastern coast in wide belts from New York (Staten
island and Long island) south to Georgia; west along the Gulf coast
to western Louisiana, and northward along the Mississippi and Ohio
basins to Arkansas, Indiana, and Illinois.

=Habit.=--A slender, medium-sized tree, attaining a height of 30-50 feet, reaching farther south a maximum of 90 feet; trunk 9-18 inches in diameter, usually branching high up, forming a rather open hemispherical or narrow-oblong head; branches irregular, short, rising, except the lower, at a sharp angle; branchlets stout, roundish, varying in color, degree of pubescence, and glossiness, becoming rough after the first year with the raised leaf-scars; spray sparse.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark ash-gray, very rough, and broken into loosely attached narrow plates in old trees; in young trees light ash-gray, smooth at first, becoming in a few years roughish, low-ridged.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds conical, acute, more or less resinous. Leaves 3-6 inches long, two-thirds as wide, densely white-tomentose when young, at length dark green on the upper side, lighter beneath and smooth except along the veins; outline ovate, wavy-toothed; base heart-shaped, lobes often overlapping; apex obtuse; leafstalk long, round, downy; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile catkins when expanded 3-4 inches long, at length pendent; scales cut into irregular divisions, reddish; stamens numerous, anthers oblong, dark red: fertile catkins spreading, few and loosely flowered, gradually elongating; scales reddish-brown; ovary short-stalked; styles 2-3, united at the base; stigmas 2-3, conspicuous.

=Fruit.=--Fruiting catkins spreading or drooping, 4-5 inches long: capsules usually erect, ovoid, acute, shorter than or equaling the slender pedicels: seeds numerous, white-hairy.

=Horticultural Value.=--Not procurable in New England nurseries or from collectors; its usefulness in landscape gardening not definitely known.

1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile catkin.
3. Sterile flower.
4. Scale of sterile flower.
5. Branch with fertile catkin.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting branch with mature leaves.

=Populus deltoides, Marsh.=

_Populus monilifera, Ait._

COTTONWOOD. POPLAR.

=Habitat and Range.=--In moist soil; river banks and basins, shores of lakes, not uncommon in drier locations.

Throughout Quebec and Ontario to the base of the Rocky mountains.

Maine,--not reported; New Hampshire,--restricted to the immediate vicinity of the Connecticut river, disappearing near the northern part of Westmoreland; Vermont,--western sections, abundant along the shores of the Hoosac river in Pownal and along Lake Champlain (W. W. Eggleston); in the Connecticut valley as far north as Brattleboro (_Flora of Vermont_, 1900); Massachusetts,--along the Connecticut and its tributaries; Rhode Island,--occasional; Connecticut,--occasional eastward, common along the Connecticut, Farmington, and Housatonic rivers.

South to Florida; west to the Rocky mountains.

=Habit.=--A stately tree, 75-100 feet in height; trunk 3-5 feet in diameter, light gray, straight or sometimes slightly inclined, of nearly uniform size to the point of branching, surmounted by a noble, broad-spreading, open, symmetrical head, the lower branches massive, horizontal, or slightly ascending, more or less pendulous at the extremities, the upper coarse and spreading, rising at a sharper angle; branchlets stout; foliage brilliant green, easily set in motion; the sterile trees gorgeous in spring with dark red pendent catkins.

=Bark.=--In old trees thick, ash-gray, separated into deep, straight furrows with rounded ridges; in young trees light yellowish-green, smooth; season's shoots greenish, marked with pale longitudinal lines.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds large, conical, smooth, shining. Leaves 3-6 inches long, scarcely less in width, variable in color and shape, ordinarily dark green and shining above, lighter beneath, ribs raised on both sides; outline broadly ovate, irregularly crenate-toothed; apex abruptly acute or acuminate; base truncate, slightly heart-shaped or sometimes acute; stems long, slender, somewhat flattened at right angles to the plane of the blade; stipules linear, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. In solitary, densely flowered catkins; bracts lacerate-fringed, each bract subtending a cup-shaped scale; stamens very numerous; anthers longer than the filaments, dark red: fertile catkins elongating to 5 or 6 inches; ovary ovoid; stigmas 3 or 4, nearly sessile, spreading.

=Fruit.=--Capsules ovate, rough, short-stalked; seeds densely cottony.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in southern-central New England; grows rapidly in almost any soil and is readily obtainable in nurseries. Where an immediate effect is desired, the cottonwood serves the purpose excellently and frequently makes very fine large individual trees, but the wood is soft and likely to be broken by wind or ice. Usually propagated from cuttings.

1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile catkins.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Scale of sterile flower.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting catkin.
8. Branch with mature leaves.
9. Variant leaf.

=Populus balsamifera, L.=

BALSAM. POPLAR. BALM OF GILEAD.

=Habitat and Range.=--Alluvial soils; river banks, valleys, borders of swamps, woods.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia west to Manitoba; northward to the
coast of Alaska and along the Mackenzie river to the Arctic circle.

Maine,--common; New Hampshire,--Connecticut river valley, generally near the river, becoming more plentiful northward; Vermont,--frequent; Massachusetts and Rhode Island,--not reported; Connecticut,--extending along the Housatonic river at New Milford for five or six miles, perhaps derived from an introduced tree (C. K. Averill, _Rhodora_, II, 35).

West through northern New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Dakota (Black
Hills), Montana, beyond the Rockies to the Pacific coast.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 30-75 feet high, trunk 1-3 feet in diameter, straight; branches horizontal or nearly so, slender for size of tree, short; head open, narrow-oblong or oblong-conical; branchlets mostly terete; foliage thin.

=Bark.=--In old trees dark gray or ash-gray, firm-ridged, in young trees smooth; branchlets grayish; season's shoots reddish or greenish brown, sparsely orange-dotted.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds 3/4 inch long, appressed or slightly divergent, conical, slender, acute, resin-coated, sticky, fragrant when opening. Leaves 3-6 inches long, about one-half as wide, yellowish when young, when mature bright green, whitish below; outline ovate-lanceolate or ovate, finely toothed, gradually tapering to an acute or acuminate apex; base obtuse to rounded, sometimes truncate or heart-shaped; leafstalk much shorter than the blade, terete or nearly so; stipules soon falling. The leaves of var. _intermedia_ are obovate to oval; those of var. _latifolia_ closely approach the leaves of _P. candicans_.

=Inflorescence.=--April. Sterile 3-4 inches long, fertile at first about the same length, gradually elongating, loosely flowered; bracts irregularly and rather narrowly cut-toothed, each bract subtending a cup-shaped disk; stamens numerous; anthers red: ovary short-stalked; stigmas two, 2-lobed, large, wavy-margined.

=Fruit.=--Fruiting catkins drooping, 4-6 inches long: capsules ovoid, acute, longer than the pedicels, green: seeds numerous, hairy.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in all excepting very wet soils, in full sun or light shade, and in exposed situations; of rapid growth, but subject to the attacks of borers, which kill the branches and make the head unsightly; also spreads from the roots, and therefore not desirable for ornamental plantations; most useful in the formation of shelter-belts; readily transplanted but not common in nurseries. Propagated from cuttings.

1. Branch with sterile flowers.
2. Sterile flower, back view.
3. Sterile flower, side view.
4. Scales of sterile flower.
5. Branch with fertile catkins.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting catkins, mature.
8. Branch with mature leaves.

=Populus candicans, Ait.=

_Populus balsamifera_, var. _candicans, Gray._

BALM OF GILEAD.

=Habitat and Range.=--In a great variety of soils; usually in cultivated or pasture lands in the vicinity of dwellings; infrequently found in a wild state. The original site of this tree has not been definitely agreed upon. Professor L. H. Bailey reports that it is indigenous in Michigan, and northern collectors find both sexes in New Hampshire and Vermont; while in central and southern New England the staminate tree is rarely if ever seen, and the pistillate flowers seldom if ever mature perfect fruit. The evidence seems to indicate a narrow belt extending through northern New Hampshire, Vermont and Michigan, with the intermediate southern sections of the Province of Ontario as the home of the Balm of Gilead.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,--occasional; Ontario,--frequent.

New England,--occasional throughout.

South to New Jersey; west to Michigan and Minnesota.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 40-60 feet high; trunk 1-3 feet in diameter, straight or inclined, sometimes beset with a few crooked, bushy branchlets; head very variable in shape and size; solitary in open ground, commonly _broad-based, spacious, and pyramidal_, among other trees more often rather small; loosely and irregularly branched, with sparse, coarse, and often crooked spray; _foliage dark green, handsome, and abundant_; all parts characterized by a strong and peculiar resinous fragrance. A single tree multiplying by suckers often becomes parent of a grove covering half an acre, more or less, made up of trees of all ages and sizes.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk and lower portions of large branches dark gray, rough, irregularly striate and firm in old trees; in young trees and upon smaller branches smooth, soft grayish-green, often flanged by prominent ridges running down the stalk from the vertices of the triangular leaf-scars; season's shoots often flanged, shining reddish or olive green, with occasional longitudinal gray lines, viscid.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds dark reddish-brown, rather closely set along the stalk, conical or somewhat angled, narrow, often falcate, sharp-pointed, resinous throughout, viscid, aromatic, exhaling a powerful odor when the scales expand, terminal about 3/4 inch long. Leaves 4-6 inches long and nearly as wide, yellowish-green at first, becoming dark green and smooth on the upper surface with the exception of a _minute pubescence along the veins_, dull light green beneath, finely serrate with incurved glandular points, usually ciliate with minute stiff, whitish hairs; base heart-shaped; apex short-pointed; petioles about 1-1-1/2 inches long, _more or less hairy_, somewhat flattened at right angles to the blade; stipules short, ovate, acute, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--Similar to that of _P. balsamifera_.

=Fruit.=--Similar to that of _P. balsamifera_.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; has an attractive foliage and grows rapidly in all soils and situations, but the branches are easily broken by the wind, and its habit of suckering makes it objectionable in ornamental ground; occasionally offered by nurserymen and collectors. Propagated from cuttings.

1. Winter bud.
2. Branch with fertile catkins.
3. Fertile flower.
4. Fruiting branch.

=Populus alba, L.=

ABELE. WHITE POPLAR. SILVER-LEAF POPLAR.

=Range.=--Widely distributed in the Old World, extending in Europe from southern Sweden to the Mediterranean, throughout northern Africa, and eastward in Asia to the northwestern Himalayas. Introduced from England by the early settlers and soon established in the colonial towns, as in Plymouth and Duxbury, on the western shore of Massachusetts bay. Planted or spontaneous over a wide area.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,--occasional.

New England,--occasional throughout, local, sometimes common.

Southward to Virginia.

=Habit.=--A handsome tree, resembling _P. grandidentata_ more than any other American poplar, but of far nobler proportions; 40-75 feet high and 2-4 feet in diameter at the ground; growing much larger in England; head large, spreading; round-topped, in spring enveloped in a dazzling cloud of cotton white, which resolves itself later into two conspicuously contrasting surfaces of dark green and silvery white.

=Bark.=--Light gray, smooth upon young trees, in old trees furrowed upon the trunk.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds not viscid, cottony. Leaves 1-4 inches long, densely white-tomentose while expanding, when mature dark green above and white-tomentose to glabrous beneath; outline ovate or deltoid, 3-5-lobed and toothed or simply toothed, teeth irregular; base heart-shaped or truncate; apex acute to obtuse; leafstalk long, slender, compressed; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence and Fruit.=--April to May. Sterile catkins 2-4 inches long, cylindrical, fertile at first shorter,--stamens 6-16; anthers purple: capsules 1/4 inch long, narrow-ovoid; seeds hairy.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy. Thrives even in very poor soils and in exposed situations; grows rapidly in good soils; of distinctive value in landscape gardening but not adapted for planting along streets and upon lawns of limited area on account of its habit of throwing out numerous suckers and its liability to damage from heavy winds. The sides of country roads where the abele has been planted are sometimes obstructed for a considerable distance by the thrifty shoots from underground.

=Salix discolor. Muhl.=

PUSSY WILLOW. GLAUCOUS WILLOW.

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, wet grounds; banks of streams, swamps, moist hillsides.

Nova Scotia to Manitoba.

Maine,--abundant; common throughout the other New England states.

South to North Carolina; west to Illinois and Missouri.

=Habit.=--Mostly a tall shrub with several stems, but occasionally assuming a tree-like habit, with a height of 15-20 feet and trunk diameter of 5-10 inches; one tree reported at Laconia, N. H., 35 feet high (F. W. Batchelder); branches few, stout, ascending, forming a very open, hemispherical head.

=Bark.=--Trunk reddish-brown; branches dark-colored; branchlets light green, orange-dotted.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate-conical; apex obtuse to acute. Leaves simple, alternate, 2-4 inches long, smooth and bright green above, smooth and whitish beneath when fully grown; outline ovate-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-oval, crenulate-serrate to entire; apex acute, base acute and entire; leafstalk short; stipules toothed or entire.

=Inflorescence.=--March to April. Appearing before the leaves in catkins, sterile and fertile on separate plants, occasionally both kinds on the same plant, sessile,--sterile spreading or erect, oblong-cylindrical, silky; calyx none; petals none; bracts entire, reddish-brown turning to black, oblong to oblong-obovate, with long, silky hairs; stamens 2; filaments distinct: fertile catkins spreading; bracts oblong to ovate, hairy; style short; stigma deeply 4-lobed.

=Fruit.=--Fruiting catkins somewhat declined: capsules ovate-conical, tomentose, stem two-thirds the length of the scale: seeds numerous.

=Horticultural Value.=--Picturesque in blossom and fruit; its value dependent chiefly upon its matted roots for holding wet banks, and its ability to withstand considerable shade. Sold by plant collectors; easily propagated from cuttings.

1. Leaf-buds.
2. Branch with sterile catkins.
3. Sterile flower.
4. Branch with fertile catkins.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
7. Mature leaves.

=Salix nigra, Marsh.=

BLACK WILLOW

=Habitat and Range.=--In low grounds, along streams or ponds, river flats.

New Brunswick to western Ontario.

New England,--occasional throughout, frequent along the larger streams.

South to Florida; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian
territory, Louisiana, Texas, southern California, and south into
Mexico.

=Habit.=--A large shrub or small tree, 25-40 feet high and 10-15 inches in trunk diameter, attaining great size in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and the valley of the lower Colorado; trunk short, surmounted by an irregular, open, often roundish head, with stout, spreading branches, slender branchlets, and twigs brittle towards their base.

_S. nigra_, var. _falcata_, Pursh., covers about the same range as the type and differs chiefly in its narrower, falcate leaves.

=Bark.=--Trunk rough, in young trees light brown, in old trees dark-colored or nearly black, deeply and irregularly ridged, separated on the surface into thick, plate-like scales; branchlets reddish-brown; twigs bronze olive.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds narrowly conical, acute. Leaves simple, alternate, appearing much later than those of _S. discolor_, 2-5 inches long, somewhat pubescent on both sides when young, when mature green and smooth above, paler and sometimes pubescent along the veins beneath; outline narrowly lanceolate, finely serrate; apex acute or acuminate, often curved; base acutish to rounded or slightly heart-shaped; petiole short, usually pubescent; stipules large and persistent, or small and soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Appearing with the leaves from the axils of the short, lateral shoots, in catkins, sterile and fertile on different trees, stalked,--sterile spreading, narrowly cylindrical; calyx none; corolla none; bracts entire, rounded to oblong, villous, ciliate; stamens about 5: fertile catkins spreading; calyx none; corolla none; bracts ovate to narrowly oblong, acute, villous; ovary short-stalked, with two small glands at its base, ovate-conical, sometimes obovate, smooth; stigmas 2, short.

=Fruit.=--Fertile catkins drooping: capsules ovate-conical, short-stemmed, minutely granular; style very short: seeds numerous.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England; grows rapidly in all soils, particularly useful in very wet situations; seriously affected by insects; occasionally offered in nurseries; transplanted readily; propagated from cuttings.

1. Winter buds.
2. Branch with sterile catkins.
3. Sterile flower, side view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Branch with fertile catkins.
6. Fertile flower, side view.
7. Fertile flower, front view.
8. Fruiting branch.
9. Fruit enlarged.

=Salix fragilis and Salix alba.=

The _fragilis_ and _alba_ group of genus _Salix_ gives rise to puzzling questions of determination and nomenclature. Pure _fragilis_ and pure _alba_ are perfectly distinct plants, _fragilis_ occasional, locally rather common, and _alba_ rather rare within the limits of the United States. Each species has varieties; the two species hybridize with each other and with native species, and the hybrids themselves have varietal forms. This group affords a tempting field for the manufacture of species and varieties, about most of which so little is known that any attempt to assign a definite range would be necessarily imperfect and misleading. The range as given below in either species simply points out the limits within which any one of the various forms of that species appears to be spontaneous.

=Salix fragilis, L.=

CRACK WILLOW. BRITTLE WILLOW.

=Habitat and Range.=--In low land and along river banks. Indigenous in southwestern Asia, and in Europe where it is extensively cultivated; introduced into America probably from England for use in basket-making, and planted at a very early date in many of the colonial towns; now extensively cultivated, and often spontaneous in wet places and along river banks, throughout New England and as far south as Delaware.

=Habit.=--Tree often of great size; attaining a maximum height of 60-90 feet; head open, wide-spreading; branches except the lowest rising at a broad angle; branchlets reddish or yellowish green, smooth and polished, very brittle at the base. In 1890 there was standing upon the Groome estate, Humphreys Street, Dorchester, Mass., a willow of this species about 60 feet high, 28 feet 2 inches in girth five feet from the ground, with a spread of 110 feet (_Typical Elms and other Trees of Massachusetts_, p. 85).

=Bark.=--Bark of the trunk gray, smooth in young trees, in old trees very rough, irregularly ridged, sometimes cleaving off in large plates.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds about 1/3 inch long, reddish-brown, narrow-conical. Leaves simple, alternate, 2-6 inches long, smooth, dark green and shining above, pale or glaucous beneath and somewhat pubescent when young; outline lanceolate, glandular-serrate; apex long-acuminate; tapering to an acute or obtuse base; leafstalk short, glandular at the top; stipules half-cordate when present, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Catkins appearing with the leaves, spreading, stalked,--sterile 1-2 inches long; stamens 2-4, usually 2; filaments distinct, pubescent below; ovary abortive: fertile catkins slender; stigma nearly sessile; capsule long-conical, smooth, short-stalked.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows best near streams, but adapts itself readily to all rich, damp soils. A handsome ornamental tree when planted where its roots can find water, and its branches space for free development. Readily propagated from slips.

SALIX ALBA, L.

WHITE WILLOW.

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, moist grounds; along streams. Probably indigenous throughout Europe, northern Africa, and Asia as far south as northwestern India. Extensively introduced in America, and often spontaneous over large areas.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario.

New England,--sparingly throughout.

South to Delaware; extensively introduced in the western states.

=Habit.=--A large tree, 50-80 feet in height; trunk usually rather short and 2-7 feet in diameter; head large, not as broad-spreading as that of _S. fragilis_; branches numerous, mostly ascending.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in old trees gray and coarsely ridged, in young trees smooth; twigs smooth, olive.

=Leaves.=--Leaves simple, alternate, 2-4 inches long, _silky-hairy on both sides when young, when old still retaining more or less pubescence, especially on the paler under surface_; outline narrowly lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, glandular-serrate, tapering to a long pointed apex and to an acute base; leafstalk short, usually without glands; stipules ovate-lanceolate, soon falling.

=Note.=--Var. _vitellina_, Koch., by far the most common form of this willow; mature leaves glabrous above; twigs _yellow_. Var. _cærulea_, Koch.; mature leaves bluish-green, glabrous above, glaucous beneath; twigs _olive_.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Catkins appearing with the leaves, slender, erect, stalked; scales linear; stamens 2; filaments distinct, hairy below the middle; stigma nearly sessile, deeply cleft; capsule glabrous, sessile or nearly so.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows best in moist localities; extensively cultivated to bind the soil along the banks of streams. Easily propagated from slips.

JUGLANDACEÆ. WALNUT FAMILY.

=Juglans cinerea, L.=

BUTTERNUT. OILNUT. LEMON WALNUT.

=Habitat and Range.=--Roadsides, rich woods, river valleys, fertile, moist hillsides, high up on mountain slopes.

New Brunswick, throughout Quebec and eastern Ontario.

Maine,--common, often abundant; New Hampshire,--throughout the Connecticut valley, and along the Merrimac and its tributaries, to the base of the White mountains; Vermont,--frequent; Massachusetts,--common in the eastern and central portions, frequent westward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Delaware, along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama; west
to Minnesota, Kansas, and Arkansas.

=Habit.=--Usually a medium-sized tree, 20-45 feet in height, with a disproportionately large trunk, 1-4 feet in diameter; often attaining under favorable conditions much greater dimensions. It ramifies at a few feet from the ground and throws out long, rather stout, and nearly horizontal branches, the lower slightly drooping, forming for the height of the tree a very wide-spreading head, with a stout and stiffish spray. At its best the butternut is a picturesque and even beautiful tree.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark gray, rough, narrow-ridged and wide-furrowed in old trees, in young trees smooth, dark gray; branchlets brown gray, with gray dots and prominent leaf-scars; season's shoots greenish-gray, faint-dotted, with a clammy pubescence. The bruised bark of the nut stains the skin yellow.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds flattish or oblong-conical, few-scaled, 2-4 buds often superposed, the uppermost largest and far above the axil. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 1-1-1/2 feet long, viscid-pubescent throughout, at least when young; rachis enlarged at base; stipules none; leaflets 9-17, 2-4 inches long, about half as wide, upper surface rough, yellowish when unfolding in spring, becoming a dark green, lighter beneath, yellow in autumn; outline oblong-lanceolate, serrate; veins prominent beneath; apex acute to acuminate; base obtuse to rounded, somewhat inequilateral, sessile, except the terminal leaflet; stipels none.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Appearing while the leaves are unfolding, sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree,--the sterile from terminal or lateral buds of the preceding season, in single, unbranched, stout, green, cylindrical, drooping catkins 3-6 inches long; calyx irregular, mostly 6-lobed, borne on an oblong scale; corolla none; stamens 8-12, with brown anthers: fertile flowers sessile, solitary, or several on a common peduncle from the season's shoots; calyx hairy, 4-lobed, with 4 small petals at the sinuses; styles 2, short; stigmas 2, large, feathery, diverging, rose red.

=Fruit.=--Ripening in October, one or several from the same footstalk, about 3 inches long, oblong, pointed, green, downy, and sticky at first, dark brown when dry: shells sculptured, rough: kernel edible, sweet but oily.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in any well-drained soil, but prefers a deep, rich loam; seldom reaches its best under cultivation. Trees of the same age are apt to vary in vigor and size, dead branches are likely to appear early, and sound trees 8 or 10 inches in diameter are seldom seen; the foliage is thin, appears late and drops early; planted in private grounds chiefly for its fruit; only occasionally offered in nurseries, collected plants seldom successful. Best grown from seed planted where the tree is to stand, as is evident from many trees growing spontaneously.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, side view.
4. Fertile flower.
5. Fruit.
6. Leaf.

=Juglans nigra, L.=

BLACK WALNUT.

=Habitat and Range.=--Rich woods.

Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont,--not reported native; Massachusetts,--rare east of the Connecticut river, occasional along the western part of the Connecticut valley to the New York line; Rhode Island,--doubtfully native, Apponaug (Kent county) and elsewhere; Connecticut,--frequent westward, Darien (Fairfield county); Plainville (Hartford county, J. N. Bishop _in lit._, 1896); in the central and eastern sections probably introduced.

South to Florida; west to Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A large tree, 50-75 feet high, with a diameter above the swell of the roots of 2-5 feet; attaining in the Ohio valley a height of 150 feet and a diameter of 6-8 feet; trunk straight, slowly tapering, throwing out its lower branches nearly horizontally, the upper at a broad angle, forming an open, spacious, noble head.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in old trees thick, blackish, and deeply furrowed; large branches rough and more or less furrowed; branchlets smooth; season's twigs downy.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds small, ovate or rounded, obtuse, more or less pubescent, few-scaled. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate; rachis smooth and swollen at base, but less so than that of the butternut; stipules none; leaflets 13-21 (the odd leaflet at the apex often wanting), opposite or alternate, 2-5 inches long, about half as wide; dark green and smooth above, lighter and slightly glandular-pubescent beneath, turning yellow in autumn; outline ovate-lanceolate; apex taper-pointed; base oblique, usually rounded or heart-shaped; stemless or nearly so, except the terminal leaflet; stipels none. Aromatic when bruised.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Appearing while the leaves are unfolding, sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree,--the sterile along the sides or at the ends of the preceding year's branches, in single, unbranched, green, stout, cylindrical, pendulous catkins, 3-6 inches long; perianth of 6 rounded lobes, stamens numerous, filaments very short, anthers purple: fertile flowers in the axils of the season's shoots, sessile, solitary or several on a common peduncle; calyx 4-toothed, with 4 small petals at the sinuses; stigmas 2, reddish-green.

=Fruit.=--Ripening in October at the ends of the branchlets, single, or two or more together; round, smooth, or somewhat roughish with uneven surface, not viscid, dull green turning to brown: husk not separating into sections: shell irregularly furrowed: kernel edible.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in central and southern New England; grows well in most situations, but in a deep rich soil it forms a large and handsome tree. Readily obtainable in western nurseries; transplants rather poorly, and collected plants are of little value. Its leaves appear late and drop early, and the fruit is often abundant. These disadvantages make it objectionable in many cases. Grown from seed.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, front view.
4. Sterile flower, back view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.

=Carya alba, Nutt.=

_Hicoria ovata, Britton._

SHAGBARK. SHAGBARK OR SHELLBARK HICKORY. WALNUT.

=Habitat and Range.=--In various soils and situations, fertile slopes, brooksides, rocky hills.

Valley of the St. Lawrence.

Maine,--along or near the coast as far north as Harpswell (Cumberland county); New Hampshire,--common as far north as Lake Winnepesaukee; Vermont,--occasional along the Connecticut to Windsor, rather common in the Champlain valley and along the western slopes of the Green mountains; Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut,--common.

South to Delaware and along the mountains to Florida; west to
Minnesota, Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--The tallest of the hickories and proportionally the most slender, from 50 to 75 feet in height, and not more than 2 feet in trunk diameter; rising to a great height in the Ohio and Indiana river bottoms. The trunk, shaggy in old trees, rises with nearly uniform diameter to the point of furcation, throwing out rather small branches of unequal length and irregularly disposed, forming an oblong or rounded head with frequent gaps in the continuity of the foliage.

=Bark.=--Trunk in young trees and in the smaller branches ash-gray, smoothish to seamy; in old trees, extremely characteristic, usually shaggy, the outer layers separating into long, narrow, unequal plates, free at one or both ends, easily detachable; branchlets smooth and gray, with conspicuous leaf-scars; season's shoots stout, more or less downy, numerous-dotted.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds tomentose, ovate to oblong, terminal buds large, much swollen before expanding; inner scales numerous, purplish-fringed, downy, enlarging to 5-6 inches in length as the leaves unfold. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 12-20 inches long; petiole short, rough, and somewhat swollen at base; stipules none; leaflets usually 5, sometimes 3 or 7, 3-7 inches long, dark green above, yellowish-green and downy beneath when young, the three upper large, obovate to lanceolate, the two lower much smaller, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, all finely serrate and sharp-pointed; base obtuse, rounded or acute, mostly inequilateral; nearly sessile save the odd leaflet; stipels none.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, in slender, green, pendulous catkins, 4-6 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; flower-scales 3-parted, the middle lobe much longer than the other two, linear, tipped with long bristles; calyx adnate to scale; stamens mostly in fours, anthers yellow, bearded at the tip: fertile flowers single or clustered on peduncles at the ends of the season's shoots; calyx 4-toothed, hairy, adherent to ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2, large, fringed.

=Fruit.=--October. Spherical, 3-6 inches in circumference: husks rather thin, firm, green turning to brown, separating completely into 4 sections: nut variable in size, subglobose, white, usually 4-angled: kernel large, sweet, edible.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers light, well-drained, loamy soil; when well established makes a moderately rapid growth; difficult to transplant, rarely offered in nurseries; collected plants seldom survive; a fine tree for landscape gardening, but its nuts are apt to make trouble in public grounds. Propagated from a seed. A thin-shelled variety is in cultivation.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, front view.
4. Sterile flower, back view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.

=Carya tomentosa, Nutt.=

_Hicoria alba, Britton._

MOCKERNUT. WHITE-HEART HICKORY. WALNUT.

Habitat and Range.--In various soils; woods, dry, rocky ridges, mountain slopes.

Niagara peninsula and westward.

Maine and Vermont,--not reported; New Hampshire,--sparingly along the coast; Massachusetts,--rather common eastward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Florida, ascending 3500 feet in Virginia; west to Kansas,
Nebraska, Missouri, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tall and rather slender tree, 50-70 feet high, with a diameter above the swell of the roots of 2-3 feet; attaining much greater dimensions south and west; trunk erect, not shaggy, separating into a few rather large limbs and sending out its upper branches at a sharp angle, forming a handsome, wide-spreading, pyramidal head.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark gray, thick, hard, close, and rough, becoming narrow-rugged-furrowed; crinkly on small trunks and branches; leaf-scars prominent; season's shoots stout, brown, downy or dusty puberulent, dotted, resinous-scented.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds large, yellowish-brown, ovate, downy. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 15-20 inches long; rachis large, downy, swollen at the base; stipules none; leaflets 7-9, opposite, large, yellowish-green and smooth above, beneath paler and thick-downy, at least when young, turning to a clear yellow or russet brown in autumn, the three upper obovate, the two lower ovate, all the leaflets slightly serrate or entire, pointed, base acute to rounded, nearly sessile except the odd one. Aromatic when bruised.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, in slender, pendulous, downy catkins, 4-8 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scales 3-lobed, hairy; calyx adnate; stamens 4 or 5, anthers red, bearded at the tip: fertile flowers on peduncles at the end of the season's shoots; calyx toothed, hairy, adherent to ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2, hairy.

=Fruit.=--October. Generally sessile on terminal peduncles, single or in pairs, as large or larger than the fruit of the shagbark, or as small as that of the pignut, oblong-globose to globose: husk hard and thick, separating in 4 segments nearly to the base, strong-scented: nut globular, 4-ridged near the top, thick-shelled: kernel usually small, sweet, edible. The superior size of the fruit and the smallness of the kernel probably give rise to the common name, "mockernut."

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich, well-drained soil, but grows well in rocky, ledgy, exposed situations, and is seldom disfigured by insect enemies. Young trees have large, deep roots, and are difficult to transplant successfully unless they have been frequently transplanted in nurseries, from which, however, they are seldom obtainable. Propagated from seed.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, front view.
4. Sterile flower, side view.
5. Sterile flower, top view.
6. Fertile flower, side view.
7. Fruiting branch.

=Carya porcina, Nutt.=

_Hicoria glabra, Britton_.

PIGNUT. WHITE HICKORY.

=Habitat and Range.=--Woods, dry hills, and uplands.

Niagara peninsula and along Lake Erie.

Maine,--frequent in the southern corner of York county; New Hampshire,--common toward the coast and along the lower Merrimac valley; abundant on hills near the Connecticut river, but only occasional above Bellows Falls; Vermont,--Marsh Hill, Ferrisburgh (Brainerd); W. Castleton and Pownal (Eggleston); Massachusetts,--common eastward; along the Connecticut river valley and some of the tributary valleys more common than the shagbark; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to the Gulf of Mexico; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas,
Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A stately tree, 50-65 feet high, reaching in the Ohio basin a height of 120 feet; trunk 2-5 feet in diameter, gradually tapering, surmounted by a large, oblong, open, rounded, or pyramidal head, often of great beauty.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark ash-gray, uniformly but very coarsely roughened, in old trees smooth or broken into rough and occasionally projecting plates; branches gray; leaf-scars rather prominent; season's shoots smooth or nearly so, purplish changing to gray, with numerous dots.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Lateral buds smaller than in _C. tomentosa_, oblong, pointed; terminal, globular, with rounded apex; scales numerous, the inner reddish, lengthening to 1 or 2 inches, not dropping till after expansion of the leaves. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 10-18 inches long; petiole long and smooth; stipules none; leaflets 5-7, opposite, 2-5 inches long, yellowish-green above, paler beneath, turning to an orange brown in autumn, smooth on both sides; outline, the three upper obovate, the two lower oblong-lanceolate, all taper-pointed; base obtuse, sometimes acute, especially in the odd leaflet.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, in pendulous, downy, slender catkins, 3-5 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scales 3-lobed, nearly glabrous, lobes of nearly equal length, pointed, the middle narrower; stamens mostly 4, anthers yellowish, beset with white hairs: fertile flowers at the ends of the season's shoots; calyx 4-toothed, pubescent, adherent to the ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2.

=Fruit.=--October. Single or in pairs, sessile on a short, terminal stalk, shape and size extremely variable, pear-shaped, oblong, round, or obovate, usually about 1-1/2 inches in diameter: husk thin, green turning to brown, when ripe parting in four sections to the center and sometimes nearly to the base: nut rather thick-shelled, not ridged, not sharp-pointed: kernel much inferior in flavor to that of the shagbark.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in all well-drained soils, but prefers a deep, rich loam; a desirable tree for ornamental plantations, especially in lawns, as the deep roots do not interfere with the growth of grass above them; ill-adapted, like all the hickories, for streets, as the nuts are liable to cause trouble; less readily obtainable in nurseries than the shellbark hickory and equally difficult to transplant. Propagated from the seed.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3, 4. Sterile flower, back view.
5. Fertile flower, side view.
6. Fruiting branch.

=Carya amara, Nutt.=

_Hicoria minima, Britton_.

BITTERNUT. SWAMP HICKORY.

=Habitat and Range.=--In varying soils and situations; wet woods, low, damp fields, river valleys, along roadsides, occasional upon uplands and hill slopes.

From Montreal west to Georgian bay.

Maine,--southward, rare; New Hampshire,--eastern limit in the Connecticut valley, where it ranges farther north than any other of our hickories, reaching Well's river (Jessup); Vermont,--occasional west of the Green mountains and in the southern Connecticut valley; Massachusetts,--rather common, abundant in the vicinity of Boston; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Florida, ascending 3500 feet in Virginia; west to
Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tall, slender tree, 50-75 feet high and 1 foot-2-1/2 feet in diameter at the ground, reaching greater dimensions southward. The trunk, tapering gradually to the point of branching, develops a capacious, spreading head, usually widest near the top, with lively green, finely cut foliage of great beauty, turning to a rich orange in autumn. Easily recognized in winter by its flat, yellowish buds.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk gray, close, smooth, rarely flaking off in thin plates; branches and branchlets smooth; leaf-scars prominent; season's shoots yellow, smooth, yellow-dotted.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Terminal buds long, yellow, flattish, often scythe-shaped, pointed, with a granulated surface; lateral buds much smaller, often ovate or rounded, pointed. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 12-15 inches long; rachis somewhat enlarged at base; stipules none; leaflets 5-11, opposite, 5-6 inches long, 1-2 inches wide, bright green and smooth above, paler and smooth or somewhat downy beneath, turning to orange yellow in autumn; outline lanceolate, or narrowly oval to oblong-obovate, serrate; apex taper-pointed to scarcely acute; base obtuse or rounded except that of the terminal leaflet, which is acute; sessile and inequilateral, except in terminal leaflet, which has a short stem and is equal-sided; sometimes scarcely distinguishable from the leaves of _C. porcina_; often decreasing regularly in size from the upper to the lower pair.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, or sometimes from the lateral buds of the preceding season, in slender, pendulous catkins, 3-4 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scale 3-lobed, hairy-glandular, middle lobe about the same length as the other two but narrower, considerably longer toward the end of the catkin; stamens mostly 5, anthers bearded at the tip: fertile flowers on peduncles at the end of the season's shoots; calyx 4-lobed, pubescent, adherent to the ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2.

=Fruit.=--October. Single or in twos or threes at the ends of the branchlets, abundant, usually rather small, about 1 inch long, the width greater than the length; occasionally larger and somewhat pear-shaped: husk separating about to the middle into four segments, with sutures prominently winged at the top or almost to the base, or nearly wingless: nut usually thin-shelled: kernel white, sweetish at first, at length bitter.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows almost anywhere, but prefers a rich, loamy or gravelly soil. A most graceful and attractive hickory, which is transplanted more readily and grows rather more rapidly than the shagbark or pignut, but more inclined than either of these to show dead branches. Seldom for sale by nurserymen or collectors. Grown readily from seed.

1. Winter bud.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.

BETULACEÆ. BIRCH FAMILY.

=Ostrya Virginica, Willd.=

_Ostrya Virginiana, Willd._

HOP HORNBEAM. IRONWOOD. LEVERWOOD.

=Habitat and Range.=--In rather open woods and along highlands.

Nova Scotia to Lake Superior.

Common in all parts of New England.

Scattered throughout the whole country east of the Mississippi,
ranging through western Minnesota to Nebraska, Kansas, Indian
territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A small tree, 25-40 feet high and 8-12 inches in diameter at the ground, sometimes attaining, without much increase in height, a diameter of 2 feet; trunk usually slender; head irregular, often oblong or loosely and rather broadly conical; lower branches sometimes slightly declining at the extremities, but with branchlets mostly of an upward tendency; spray slender and rather stiff. Suggestive, in its habit, of the elm; in its leaves, of the black birch; and in its fruit, of clusters of hops.

=Bark.=--Trunk and large limbs light grayish-brown, very narrowly and longitudinally ridged, the short, thin segments in old trees often loose at the ends; the smaller branches, branchlets, and in late fall the season's shoots, dark reddish-brown.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds small, oblong, pointed, invested with reddish-brown scales. Leaves simple, alternate, roughish, 2-4 inches long, 1-2 inches wide, more or less appressed-pubescent on both sides, dark green above, lighter beneath; outline ovate to oblong-ovate, sharply and for the most part doubly serrate; apex acute to acuminate; base slightly and narrowly heart-shaped, rounded or truncate, mostly with unequal sides; leafstalks short, pubescent; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile flowers from wood of the preceding season, lateral or terminal, in drooping, cylindrical catkins, usually in threes; scales broad, laterally rounded, sharp-pointed, ciliate, each subtending several nearly sessile stamens, filaments sometimes forked, with anthers bearded at the tip: fertile catkins about 1 inch in length, on short leafy shoots, spreading; bracts lanceolate, tapering to a long point, ciliate, each subtending two ovaries, each ovary with adherent calyx, enclosed in a hairy bractlet; styles 2, long, linear.

=Fruit.=--Early September. A small, smooth nut, enclosed in the distended bract; the aggregated fruit resembling a cluster of hops.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers dry or well-drained slopes in gravelly or rocky soil; graceful and attractive, but of rather slow growth; useful in shady situations and worthy of a place in ornamental plantations, but too small for street use. Seldom raised by nurserymen; collected plants moved with difficulty. Propagated from seed.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Fertile catkin.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting branch.

=Carpinus Caroliniana, Walt.=

HORNBEAM. BLUE BEECH. IRONWOOD. WATER BEECH.

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, wet woods, and margins of swamps.

Province of Quebec to Georgian bay.

Rather common throughout New England, less frequent towards the coast.

South to Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian
territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A low, spreading tree, 10-30 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 6-12 inches, rarely reaching 2 feet; trunk short, often given a fluted appearance by projecting ridges running down from the lower branches to the ground; in color and smoothness resembling the beech; lower branches often much declined, upper going out at various angles, often zigzag but keeping the same general direction; head wide, close, flat-topped to rounded, with fine, slender spray.

=Bark.=--Trunk smooth, close, dark bluish-gray; branchlets grayish; season's shoots light green turning brown, more or less hairy.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds small, oval or ovoid, acute to obtuse. Leaves simple, alternate, 2-3 inches long, dull green above, lighter beneath, turning to scarlet or crimson in autumn; outline ovate or slightly obovate oblong or broadly oval, irregularly and sharply doubly serrate; veins prominent and pubescent beneath, at least when young; apex acuminate to acute; base rounded, truncate, acute, or slightly and unevenly heart-shaped; leafstalk rather short, slender, hairy; stipules pubescent, falling early.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile flowers from growth of the preceding season in short, stunted-looking, lateral catkins, mostly single; scales ovate or rounded, obtuse, each subtending several stamens; filaments very short, mostly 2-forked; anthers bearded at the tip: fertile flowers at the ends of leafy shoots of the season, in loose catkins; bractlets foliaceous, each subtending a green, ovate, acute, ciliate, deciduous scale, each scale subtending two pistils with long reddish styles.

=Fruit.=--In terminal catkins made conspicuous by the pale green, much enlarged, and leaf-like 3-lobed bracts, each bract subtending a dark-colored, sessile, striate nutlet.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers moist, rich soil, near running water, on the edges of wet land or on rocky slopes in shade. Its irregular outline and curiously ridged trunk make it an interesting object in landscape plantations. It is not often used, however, because it is seldom grown in nurseries, and collected plants do not bear removal well. Propagated from the seed.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Fertile catkin.
6. Fertile flower.
7. Fruiting branch.

=BETULA.=

Inflorescence.--In scaly catkins, sterile and fertile on the same tree, appearing with or before the leaves from shoots of the previous season,--sterile catkins terminal and lateral, formed in summer, erect or inclined in the bud, drooping when expanded in the following spring; sterile flowers usually 3, subtended by a shield-shaped bract with 2 bractlets; each flower consisting of a 1-scaled calyx and 2 anthers, which appear to be 4 from the division of the filaments into two parts, each of which bears an anther cell: fertile catkins erect or inclined at the end of very short leafy branchlets; fertile flowers subtended by a 3-lobed bract falling with the nuts; bractlets none; calyx none; corolla none; consisting of 2-3 ovaries crowned with 2 spreading styles.

=Betula lenta, L.=

BLACK BIRCH. CHERRY BIRCH. SWEET BIRCH.

=Habitat and Range.=--Moist grounds; rich woods, old pastures, fertile hill-slopes, banks of rivers.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to the Lake Superior region.

Maine,--frequent; New Hampshire,--in the highlands of the southern section, and along the Connecticut river valley to a short distance north of Windsor; Vermont,--frequent in the western part of the state, and in the southern Connecticut valley (_Flora of Vermont_, 1900); Massachusetts and Rhode Island,--frequent throughout, especially in the highlands, less often near the coast; Connecticut,--widely distributed, especially in the Connecticut river valley, but not common.

South to Delaware, along the mountains to Florida; west to
Minnesota and Kansas.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized or rather large tree, 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-4 feet, often conspicuous along precipitous ledges, springing out of crevices in the rocks and assuming a variety of picturesque forms. In open ground the dark trunk develops a symmetrical, wide-spreading, hemispherical head broadest at its base, the lower limbs horizontal or drooping sometimes nearly to the ground. The limbs are long and slender, often more or less tortuous, and separated ultimately into a delicate, polished spray. Distinguished by its long purplish-yellow, pendulous catkins in spring, and in summer by its glossy, bright green, and abundant foliage, which becomes yellow in autumn.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk on old trees very dark, separating and cleaving off in large, thickish plates; on young trees and on branches a dark reddish-brown, not separating into thin layers, smooth, with numerous horizontal lines 1-3 inches long; branchlets reddish-brown, shining, with shorter lateral lines; season's shoots with small, pale dots. Inner bark very aromatic, having a strong checkerberry flavor,--hence the common name, "checkerberry birch"; called also "cherry birch," from the resemblance of its bark to that of the garden cherry.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds reddish-brown, oblong or conical, pointed, inner scales whitish, elongating as the bud opens. Leaves simple, in alternate pairs, 3-4 inches long and one-half as wide, shining green above and downy when young, paler beneath and silvery-downy along the prominent, straight veins; outline ovate-oval, ovate-oblong, or oval; sharply serrate to doubly serrate; apex acute to acuminate; base heart-shaped to obtuse; leafstalk short, often curved, hairy when young; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile catkins 3-4 inches long, slender, purplish-yellow; scales fringed: fertile catkins erect or suberect, sessile or nearly so, 1/2-1 inch long, oblong-cylindrical; bracts pubescent; lateral lobes wider than in _B. lutea._

=Fruit.=--Fruiting catkins oblong-cylindrical, nearly erect; bracts with 3 short, nearly equal diverging lobes: nut obovate-oblong, wider than its wings; upper part of seed-body usually appressed-pubescent.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows everywhere from swamps to hilltops, but prefers moist rocky slopes and a loamy or gravelly soil; occasionally offered by nurserymen; both nursery and collected plants are moved without serious difficulty; apt to grow rather unevenly.

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.
7. Fruit.
8. Mature leaf.

=Betula lutea, Michx. f.=

YELLOW BIRCH. GRAY BIRCH.

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, rich woodlands, mountain slopes.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to Rainy river.

New England,--abundant northward; common throughout, from borders of lowland swamps to 1000 feet above the sea level; more common at considerable altitudes, where it often occurs in extensive patches or belts.

South to the middle states, and along the mountains to Tennessee
and North Carolina; west to Minnesota.

=Habit.=--A large tree, at its maximum in northern New England 60-90 feet high and 2-4 feet in diameter at the base. In the forest the main trunk separates at a considerable height into a few large branches which rise at a sharp angle, curving slightly, forming a rather small, irregular head, widest near the top; while in open ground the head is broad-spreading, hemispherical, with numerous rather equal, long and slender branches, and a fine spray with drooping tendencies. In the sunlight the silvery-yellow feathering and the metallic sheen of trunk and branches make the yellow birch one of the most attractive trees of the New England forest.