Trees of Indiana Part 4

JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA Linnaeus. Red Cedar. ( 1/2.)]

=1. SaLIX.= The Willows.

Trees or shrubs (occasionally herbaceous) with usually cl.u.s.tered teims, twigs round; leaf-blades lanceolate and long-ac.u.minate or elliptic-lanceolate and short pointed in all Indiana tree species, finely toothed or nearly entire; catkins appearing before (precocious), with (coetaneous), or after the leaves (serotinous); each pistillate flower with a little gland at the base of the pedicel on the inside.

A large genus of several hundred species varying from tiny shrubby or subherbaceous plants scarcely an inch in height to 0.5 m. (2 feet) or more in diameter, in alluvial lowlands; occurring under Indiana conditions from cold bogs and river banks to dry sand dunes. Willows are used for many purposes, among them ornament, shade, hedges, posts, poles, mattresses, revetments to protect levees, baskets, fish-weirs, whistles, etc., while the wood is used for charcoal, which is especially prized for gunpowder making, and the bark is used for tanning and furnishes salicin, which is used in medicine as a subst.i.tute for quinine and as a tonic and febrifuge.

Small to large trees; leaves narrowly to broadly lanceolate, mostly long pointed, finely and rather closely toothed; flowers appearing with the leaves; capsules not hairy.

Native trees; leaves green on both sides (No. 1) or white (glaucous) beneath (No. 2), and then with very long points and long slender twisted petioles which are never glandular; stamens 3-5-7 or more.

Twigs dark green, spreading; leaves narrowly lanceolate, green on both sides; petioles short 1 S. nigra.

Twigs yellowish, somewhat drooping; leaves broadly lanceolate, glaucous beneath; petioles long, twisted 2 S. amygdaloides.

European trees, cultivated for ornament and use; leaves always glaucous beneath; stamens always 2.

Teeth on edge of leaf 8-10 to each cm. (20-25 to the inch); petioles usually glandular; capsules almost sessile 3 S. alba.

Teeth on edge of leaf 6-8 per cm. (15-20 to the inch); petioles usually glandular; pedicels 0.5-1 mm. long 4 S. fragilis.

Shrubs or rarely small trees; leaves elliptical or oblanceolate, short pointed; margin entire or coa.r.s.ely wavy or shallow-toothed; flowers before the leaves; stamens 2; capsules long, hairy.

Twigs and leaves not hairy; leaves thin 5 S. discolor.

Twigs and sometimes the lower surface of the leaves densely hairy, leaves thicker 6 S. discolor eriocephala.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 10.

SALIX NIGRA Marshall. Black Willow. ( 1/2.)]

=1.= =Salix ngra= Marshall. Willow. Black Willow. Plate 10. Shrub or tree 5-20 m. (17-65 feet) high, dark green in ma.s.s color; bark of trunk thick, rough, flaky, dark brown to nearly black; twigs brittle at base, the younger p.u.b.escent and green, becoming glabrous and darker with age; buds ovate, small, 2-3 mm. (1/8 inch) long; petioles 3-6 or 8 mm.

(1/8-3/8 inch) long; stipules small, ovate to roundish; leaf blades narrowly lanceolate, acute or rounded at base, long-ac.u.minate at the apex, 6-11 cm. (2-1/4-4-1/4 inches) long, 7-12 mm. (1/4-1/2 inch) wide, often falcate (scythe-shaped), the so-called variety =falcata=, finely serrate, green on both sides, s.h.i.+ning above, paler and dull beneath, glabrous or sometimes p.u.b.escent beneath on midrib and larger veins; flowers appearing with the leaves in late April in the southern part of the State and well into May in the northern part; catkins slender, 2-5 or 6 cm. (4/5-2 or 2-1/2 inches) long, the staminate bright yellow; capsules 3-5 mm. (1/8 inch) long, ovoid or ovoid-lanceolate, on pedicels 1-2 mm. (1/16 inch) long.

=Distribution.=--New Brunswick and New England, westward to the eastern part of the Great Plains area from North Dakota to Texas, and, in some forms, westward across that State and into Mexico. It is interesting that this species, the first willow published in America, in the first book on American Botany ever published in this country, should be abundantly and widely distributed in the United States.

Specimens have been seen from the following counties in Indiana:--Allen (Deam); Bartholomew (Deam); Clark (Deam); Crawford (Deam); Dearborn (Deam); Dubois (Deam); Decatur (Deam); Floyd (Deam); Fulton (Deam); Harrison (Deam); Hendricks (Deam); Henry (Deam); Jackson (Deam); Jay (Deam); Jennings (Deam); Knox (Deam); Kosciusko (Deam); Lagrange (Deam); Marion (Mrs. Chas. C. Deam); Marshall (Deam); Miami (Deam); Morgan (Deam); n.o.ble (Deam); Ohio (Deam); Parke (Deam); Perry (Deam); Porter (Deam); Posey (Deam); Pulaski (Deam); Ripley (Deam); Steuben (Deam); Sullivan (Deam); Tippecanoe (Deam); Vermillion (Deam); Wabash (Deam); Warrick (Deam); White (Deam).

=Economic Uses.=--The black willow is used very extensively along the lower reaches of the Mississippi River in making mattresses which protect the levees from was.h.i.+ng. In 1912, it was estimated that 150,000 cords were used annually.

=2.= =Salix amygdalodes= Andersson. Willow. Peach-leaved Willow. Plate 11. Trees 3-12 m. (10-40 feet) high, yellowish-green in ma.s.s color; bark of trunk fissured, dark brown or reddish-brown; twigs longer and less brittle than those of _Salix nigra_, yellowish to reddish-brown, usually somewhat drooping, giving a "weeping" effect, which, with the color, makes the species easily recognizable from a distance; buds ovoid, about 3 mm. (1/8 inch) long, colored as the twigs; petioles long, slender, twisted, 5-15 or 20 mm. (1/4-4/5 inch) long; leaves lanceolate to broadly lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, rounded or somewhat acute at base, long-pointed at apex, closely serrulate, 5-12 cm. (2-5 inches) long, 1.5-3 cm. (3/5-1-1/4 inches) wide, yellowish-green above, glaucous beneath, glabrous; flowers appear from late April throughout May, usually later than those of _Salix nigra_; catkins slender, 3-5 cm.

(1-2 inches) long, the fertile becoming 4-8 cm. (1-1/2-3 inches) long in fruit; capsules lanceolate, 4-5 mm. (1/6 inch) long; pedicels slender, 2 mm. (1/12 inch) long.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 11.

SALIX AMYGDALOIDES Andersson. Peach-leaved Willow. ( 1/2.)]

=Distribution.=--From Western Quebec and Central New York, west to the Cascade Mountains in British Columbia, Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon, south to Colorado and northwest Texas. In Indiana fairly common in the northern third, rare in the central third, and lacking in the southern portion of the State.

Specimens have been seen from Indiana from the following counties: Elkhart (Deam); Fulton (Deam); Henry (Deam); Jasper (Deam); Kosciusko (Deam); Lake (Deam), (Umbach); Laporte (Deam); Marion (Mrs. Chas. C.

Deam); Marshall (Deam); Pulaski (Deam); Steuben (Deam); Wells (Deam); White (Deam).

=3.= =Salix alba= Linnaeus. Willow. White Willow. Plate 12. Trees with 1-5 spreading stems, 5-20 m. (17-65 feet) high; bark rough, coa.r.s.ely ridged, gray to brownish; twigs brittle at base, green or yellowish, glabrous; buds 5-6 mm. (1/4 inch) long; petioles 5-10 mm. (1/5-2/5 inch) long, seldom glandular; leaves lanceolate, 5-12 cm. (2-5 inches) long, 1-2.5 cm. (2/5-1 inch) wide, ac.u.minate at apex, usually acute at base, leaves bright green above, glaucous beneath, thinly to densely silky on both sides when young, often permanently silky beneath, margins with about 9-10 teeth per cm. (2/5 inch), usually glandular; flowers with the leaves, in April and May; catkins slender, cylindrical, 3-6 cm.

(1-1/4-2-1/2 inches) long; scales pale yellow; capsules ovoid-conical, 3-5 mm. (1/4 inch) long, almost sessile. The common form usually is referred to variety =vitellina= (Linnaeus) Koch, with orange twigs and more glabrate leaves.

=Distribution.=--A native of Europe which has been frequently planted and sometimes escapes.

Specimens have been seen from Indiana from the following counties: Gibson (Schneck); Hamilton (Mrs. Chas. C. Deam); Harrison (Deam); Switzerland (Deam); Warren (Deam); Wells (Deam).

=4.= =Salix fragilis= Linnaeus. Willow. Crack Willow. Plate 13. Tree very similar to _Salix alba_; twigs very brittle at the base (hence the name), green to reddish; petioles 7-15 mm. (1/4-5/8 inch) long, glandular just below the base of the leaf; leaves lanceolate, ac.u.minate, 7-15 cm. (3-6 inches) long, 2-3.5 cm. (4/5-1-1/2 inches) wide, coa.r.s.ely serrate with 5-6 teeth to each cm. (2/5 inch) of margin, dark green and s.h.i.+ning above, paler to glaucous beneath, rarely green, glabrous on both sides; catkins appearing with the leaves in late April and during May, 4-8 cm. (1-1/2-3 inches) long; capsules slenderly conical, 4-5 mm. (1/5 inch) long, on pedicels 0.5-1 mm. (1/16 inch) long.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 12.

SALIX ALBA Linnaeus. White Willow. ( 1/2.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 13.

SALIX FRAGILIS Linnaeus. Crack Willow. ( 1/2.)]

=Distribution.=--A native of Europe. It has been frequently planted and often escapes.

Specimens have been seen from the following Indiana counties: Benton (Deam); Clark (Deam); Laporte (Deam); Switzerland (Deam); Union (Deam); Wells (Deam).

=Economic Uses.=--This species and the white willow are introduced from Europe and extensively grown for the production of charcoal to use in powder making.

=5.= =Salix discolor= Muhlenberg. p.u.s.s.y Willow. Swamp Willow. Glaucous Willow. Plate 14. Shrub or small tree, 2-4 or occasionally 7-5 m. (7-15 or 25 feet) high; bark thin, usually smooth, reddish brown; twigs stoutish, reddish-purple to dark brown, often p.u.b.escent (see the variety); buds large, 5-10 mm. (1/5-2/5 inch) long, colored as the twigs; stipules large, mostly roundish, entire or toothed; leaves short-lanceolate to elliptic or elliptic-oblanceolate, acute or short-ac.u.minate at the apex, rounded or acute at the base, 5-10 cm. (2-4 inches) long, 2-3.5 cm. (4/5-1-1/2 inches) wide, nearly entire to coa.r.s.ely wavy-toothed on the margins, dark s.h.i.+ning green above, densely glaucous and occasionally somewhat p.u.b.escent beneath, especially on midrib and primaries; flowers appear in late March or in April before the leaves; catkins sessile, on old wood, stout, dense, the staminate very beautiful (p.u.s.s.ies), without leaf-bracts at base, 2-5 cm. (1-2 inches) long, the pistillate becoming 3-8 cm. (1-1/2-3 inches) long in fruit; scales elliptic-oblanceolate, densely clothed with long s.h.i.+ning hairs; capsules conic-rostrate, 7-10 or 12 mm. (1/4-1/2 inch) long, densely gray-woolly; pedicels 1.5-3 mm. (1/16-1/8 inch) long.

=Distribution.=--Nova Scotia south to Delaware and west to the eastern edge of the Great Plains area. Fairly well distributed over the entire State of Indiana. Specimens have been seen from the following counties: Allen (Deam); Dearborn (Deam); Decatur (Deam); Elkhart (Deam); Fulton (Deam); Gibson (Schneck); Hanc.o.c.k (Mrs. Chas. C. Deam); Henry (Deam); Jackson (Deam); Jay (Deam); Jefferson (Deam); Jennings (Deam); Knox (Deam); Lake (Deam); Marion (Mrs. Chas. C. Deam); Marshall (Deam); Newton (Deam); Porter (Deam); Randolph (Deam); Ripley (Deam); Shelby (Mrs. Chas. C. Deam); Sullivan (Deam); Tippecanoe (Deam); Wabash (Deam); Warren (Deam); Wayne (Deam); Wells (Deam); White (Deam).

=5a.= =Salix discolor= variety =ericephala= (Michaux) Andersson.

Differs from the species chiefly in rather densely p.u.b.escent twigs and buds; thicker and more lanceolate leaves, usually more or less p.u.b.escent beneath; and the sometimes more densely p.u.b.escent catkins.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 14.

SALIX DISCOLOR Muhlenberg. p.u.s.s.y Willow. ( 1/2.)]

=Distribution.=--Range of the species but less common. Specimens have been seen from the following Indiana counties: Ca.s.s (Deam); Decatur (Deam); Fulton (Deam); Gibson (Schneck); Jackson (Deam); Jay (Deam); Knox (Deam); Laporte (Deam); Pulaski (Deam); Sullivan (Deam); Warren (Deam); Wayne (Deam).

=2. PoPULUS.= The Poplars.

Rapidly growing trees; buds usually large, scaly and more or less resinous; leaves alternate, broad, toothed or sometimes lobed; flowers appearing before the leaves on large pendulous catkins; anthers red or purple.

In the following key mature leaves from trees are considered:

Petioles round or channeled, scarcely or not at all flattened laterally.