Part 64

4. A. maritima, Muhl. (SEA-SIDE A.) Glabrous; leaves oblong, ovate, or obovate with a wedge-shaped base, slender-petioled, sharply serrulate, bright green, or rather rusty beneath; fruiting catkins large, ovoid or oblong (9--12'' long, 6'' thick).--Borders of streams and swamps. S. Del. and E. Md., near the coast. Small tree 15--25 deg. high. (E. Asia.)

3. CORYLUS, Tourn. HAZEL-NUT. FILBERT.

Sterile flowers in drooping cylindrical catkins, consisting of 8 (half-) stamens with 1-celled anthers, their short filaments and pair of scaly bractlets cohering more or less with the inner face of the scale of the catkin. Fertile flowers several in a scaly bud, each a single ovary in the axil of a scale or bract, and accompanied by a pair of lateral bractlets; ovary tipped with a short limb of the adherent calyx, incompletely 2-celled, with 2 pendulous ovules, one of them sterile; style short; stigmas 2, elongated and slender. Nut ovoid or oblong, bony, enclosed in a leafy or partly coriaceous cup or involucre, consisting of the two bractlets enlarged and often grown together, lacerated at the border. Cotyledons very thick (raised to the surface in germination), edible; the short radicle included.--Shrubs or small trees, with thinnish doubly-toothed leaves, folded lengthwise in the bud, flowering in early spring; sterile catkins single or fascicled from scaly buds of the axils of the preceding year, the fertile terminating early leafy shoots. (The classical name, probably from [Greek: ko/rys], _a helmet_, from the involucre.)

1. C. Americana, Walt. (WILD HAZEL-NUT.) _Leaves roundish-heart-shaped_, pointed; _involucre open above_ down to the globose nut, _of 2 broad foliaceous cut-toothed almost distinct bracts_, their base coriaceous and downy, or with glandular bristles intermixed.--Thickets, N. Eng. to Ont. and Dak., and southward. Twigs and petioles often glandular-bristly.

2. C. rostrata, Ait. (BEAKED HAZEL-NUT.) _Leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, somewhat heart-shaped_, pointed; _involucre of united bracts, much prolonged_ above the ovoid nut _into a narrow tubular beak, densely bristly_.--N. Scotia to northern N. J., Mich., Minn., and westward, and south in the mountains to Ga. Shrub 2--6 deg. high.

4. OSTRYA, Micheli. HOP-HORNBEAM. IRON-WOOD.

Sterile flowers in drooping cylindrical catkins, consisting of several stamens in the axil of each bract; filaments short, often forked, bearing 1-celled (half-) anthers; their tips hairy. Fertile flowers in short catkins; a pair to each deciduous bract, each of an incompletely 2-celled 2-ovuled ovary, crowned with the short bearded border of the adherent calyx, tipped with 2 long-linear stigmas, and enclosed in a tubular bractlet, which in fruit becomes a closed bladdery oblong bag, very much larger than the small and smooth nut; these inflated involucres loosely imbricated to form a sort of strobile, in appearance like that of the Hop.--Slender trees, with very hard wood, brownish furrowed bark, and foliage resembling that of Birch; leaves open and concave in the bud, more or less plaited on the straight veins. Flowers in the spring, appearing with the leaves; the sterile catkins 1--3 together from scaly buds at the tip of the branches of the preceding year; the fertile single, terminating short leafy shoots of the season. (The classical name.)

1. O. Virginica, Willd. (AMERICAN HOP-HORNBEAM. LEVER-WOOD.) Leaves oblong-ovate, taper-pointed, very sharply doubly serrate, downy beneath, with 11--15 principal veins; buds acute; involucral sacs bristly-hairy at the base.--Rich woods, common, from the Atlantic to N. Minn., Neb., E. Kan., and southward. Tree 25--45 deg. high; hop-like strobiles full-grown in Aug.

5 CARPINUS, L. HORNBEAM. IRON-WOOD.

Sterile flowers in drooping cylindrical catkins, consisting of several stamens in the axil of a simple and entire scale-like bract; filaments very short, mostly 2-forked, the forks bearing 1-celled (half-) anthers with hairy tips. Fertile flowers several, spiked in a sort of loose terminal catkin, with small deciduous bracts, each subtending a pair of flowers, as in Ostrya; but the single involucre-like bractlet is open, enlarged in fruit and foliaceous, merely subtending the small ovate several-nerved nut.--Trees or tall shrubs, with smooth close gray bark, in this and in the slender buds and straight-veined leaves resembling the Beech; leaf-buds and inflorescence as in Ostrya. (The early Latin name.)

1. C. Caroliniana, Walter. (AMERICAN HORNBEAM. BLUE or WATER BEECH.) Leaves ovate-oblong, pointed, sharply doubly serrate, soon nearly smooth; bractlets 3-lobed, halberd-shaped, sparingly cut-toothed on one side, acute. (C. Americana, _Michx._)--Along streams, N. Scotia to Fla., west to Minn., Iowa, E. Kan., and Tex. Tree or shrub, 10--45 deg. high, with ridged trunk, and very hard wood.

6. QUERCUS, L. OAK.

Sterile flowers in slender naked catkins; bracts caducous; calyx 2--8-parted or lobed; stamens 3--12; anthers 2-celled. Fertile flowers scattered or somewhat clustered, consisting of a nearly 3-celled and 6-ovuled ovary, with a 3-lobed stigma, enclosed by a scaly bud-like involucre which becomes an indurated cup (_cupule_) around the base of the rounded nut or acorn. Cotyledons remaining underground in germination; radicle very short, included.--Flowers greenish or yellowish. Sterile catkins single or often several from the same lateral scaly bud, filiform and hanging in all our species. (The classical Latin name.) All flower in spring, and shed their nuts in Oct. of the same or the next year.

Sec. 1. LEUCOBALANUS. _Bark pale, often scaly; leaves and their lobes or teeth obtuse, never bristle-pointed; stamens 6--8; scales of the cup more or less knobby at base; stigmas sessile or nearly so; abortive ovules at the base of the perfect seed; inner surface of nut glabrous; fruit maturing the first year, often peduncled; kernel commonly sweetish; wood tough and dense._

[*] _Leaves deciduous, lyrate or sinuate-pinnatifid, pale beneath._--WHITE OAKS.

1. Q. alba, L. (WHITE OAK.) Mature _leaves smooth, pale or glaucous underneath, bright green above_, obovate-oblong, obliquely cut into 3--9 oblong or linear and obtuse mostly entire lobes; _cup hemispherical-saucer-shaped, rough or tubercled at maturity, naked, much shorter than the ovoid or oblong acorn_ (1' long).--All soils, Maine to S. E. Minn., E. Kan., and south to the Gulf. A large and valuable tree; lobes of the leaves short and broad (3--5), or deep and narrow (5--9).

2. Q. stellata, Wang. (POST OAK. IRON OAK.) _Leaves grayish or yellowish-downy underneath, pale and rough above, thickish_, sinuately cut into 5--7 rounded divergent lobes, the upper ones much larger and often 1--3-notched; _cup deep saucer-shaped, naked, one third or half the length of the ovoid acorn_ (6--9'' long). (Q. obtusiloba, _Michx._)--Sandy or sterile soil, Martha's Vineyard to Mich. and E. Neb., south to Fla. and Tex.; common, especially southward. A small tree with very durable wood.

3. Q. macrocarpa, Michx. (BUR OAK. OVER-CUP or MOSSY-CUP OAK.) _Leaves_ obovate or oblong, _lyrately-pinnatifid or deeply sinuate-lobed, or nearly parted_, sometimes nearly entire, irregular, downy or pale beneath; the lobes sparingly and obtusely toothed, or the smaller ones entire; _cup deep_, thick and woody (9''--2' across), conspicuously imbricated with hard and thick _pointed scales, the upper ones awned_, so as usually to make a mossy-fringed border; _acorn_ broadly ovoid (1--11/2' long), _half immersed in or entirely enclosed by the cup_.--Rich soil, N. Scotia to W. Mass. and Penn., west to Minn., central Neb., and Kan. A large and valuable tree; extremely variable in the size and fringe of the acorns.--Var. OLIVAEFORMIS, Gray, is only a narrower-leaved form with unusually small oblong acorns.

4. Q. lyrata, Walt. (OVER-CUP OAK. SWAMP POST OAK.) Leaves crowded at the end of the branchlets, obovate-oblong, acute at base, more or less deeply _7--9-lobed, white-tomentose beneath_ or at length smoothish, _the lobes triangular to oblong, acute or obtuse, entire_ or sparingly toothed; fruit short-peduncled or sessile; cup round-ovate, thin, _with rugged scales, almost covering the depressed-globose acorn_ (8--10''long).--River swamps, S. E. Mo. to S. Ind., Tenn., N. C., and southward.--A large tree, with flaky bark; intermediate between n. 3 and n. 5.

[*][*] _Leaves coarsely sinuate-toothed, but not lobed_ (except slightly in n. 5), _whitish and more or less downy beneath; cup hoary, hemispherical or a little depressed, about half as long as the oblong-ovoid edible acorn_.--CHESTNUT-OAKS.

5. Q. bicolor, Willd. (SWAMP WHITE OAK.) _Leaves_ obovate or oblong-obovate, _wedge-shaped at base, coarsely sinuate-crenate_ and often rather _pinnatifid_ than toothed, usually _soft-downy and white-hoary_ beneath, the main primary veins 6--8 pairs, lax and little prominent; fruiting _peduncle much longer than the petiole_; upper scales of the cup awn-pointed, sometimes forming a mossy-fringed margin; acorn scarcely 1' long.--Borders of streams and swamps, S. Maine to Ont., Minn., and E. Kan., and south in the mountains to N. Ga.--A large tree, with flaky bark.

6. Q. Michauxii, Nutt. (BASKET-OAK. COW-OAK.) Leaves (5--6' long) oval or obovate, acute, _obtuse or even cordate at base_, regularly _dentate_ (commonly not deeply), _rather rigid, usually very tomentose beneath; stamens usually 10_; fruit short-peduncled; cup shallow, tuberculate with hard and stout acute scales, without fringe; acorn 11/2' long. (Q. Prinus, var Michauxii, _Chapm._)--Borders of streams and swamps, Del. to Fla., and in the west from S. Ind. to Mo., and south to the Gulf.--A large and valuable tree, with gray flaky bark and large sweet edible acorns. Intermediate forms appear to connect with n. 5, of which Dr. Engelmann considered it a sub-species.

7. Q. Prinus, L. (CHESTNUT-OAK.) _Leaves_ thick, varying, obovate or oblong to lanceolate, sometimes acuminate, _with an obtuse or acute base, undulately crenate-toothed, pale and minutely downy beneath_, the main primary ribs 10--16 pairs, straight, prominent beneath; fruiting _peduncles shorter than the petioles, often very short_; cup thick (6--12'' wide), mostly tuberculate with hard and stout scales; acorn large (sometimes 1--11/4' long). (Incl. var. monticola, _Michx._)--Rocky banks and hillsides, E. Mass. to N. Y. and Ont., and south in the mountains to N. Ala. A large tree, with thick and deeply furrowed bark, rich in tannin.

8. Q. Muhlenbergii, Engelm. (YELLOW OAK. CHESTNUT-OAK.) _Leaves_ (5--7' long) _slender-petioled, often oblong or even lanceolate, usually acute or pointed, mostly obtuse or roundish at base, almost equably and rather sharply toothed_; cup subsessile, shallow, thin, of small appressed scales, 5--7'' broad; acorn globose or obovate, 7--9'' long. (Q. Prinus, var. acuminata, _Michx._)--Dry hillsides and rich bottoms, Mass. to Del., along the mountains to N. Ala., west to Minn., E. Neb., and Tex.--Leaves more like those of the Chestnut than any other; the primary veins very straight, impressed above, prominent beneath. A tall tree, with thin flaky bark.

9. Q. prinoides, Willd. Like the last, but of _low stature_ (usually 2--4 deg. high), _with smaller more undulate leaves on shorter petioles_ (3--6'' long), and deeper cups with _more tumid scales_. (Q. Prinus, var. humilis, _Marsh._)--Same range as last. Apparently quite distinct at the east, where it is very low, but running into Q. Muhlenbergii at the far west.

[*][*][*] _Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, entire or rarely spiny-toothed._--LIVE OAKS.

10. Q. virens, Ait. (LIVE OAK.) Leaves small, oblong or elliptical, hoary beneath as well as the branchlets; peduncle usually conspicuous, 1--3-fruited; cup top-shaped; acorn oblong; cotyledons completely united into one mass.--Along the coast from Va. to Fla. and Tex. Becoming a large tree at the south, and formerly extensively used in ship-building.

Sec. 2. MELANOBALANUS. _Bark dark, furrowed; leaves deciduous, their lobes and teeth acute and bristle-pointed (at least in youth); stamens mostly 4--6; cup-scales membranaceous; styles long and spreading; abortive ovules near the top of the perfect seed; inner surface of nut tomentose; fruit maturing the second year, sessile or on short thick peduncles; wood porous and brittle._--BLACK OAKS.

[*] _Leaves pinnatifid or lobed, slender-petioled, not coriaceous, the lobes or teeth conspicuously bristle-pointed._

[+] _Mature leaves glabrous on both sides or nearly so, oval, oblong or somewhat obovate in outline, from moderately sinuate-pinnatifid to deeply pinnatifid, turning various shades of red or crimson in late autumn; large trees, with reddish coarse-grained wood; species closely related and apparently readily hybridizing._

11. Q. rubra, L. (RED OAK.) _Cup saucer-shaped_ or flat, with a narrow raised border (9--12'' in diameter), of rather fine closely appressed scales, sessile or on a very short and abrupt narrow stalk or neck, _very much shorter than the oblong-ovoid or ellipsoidal acorn_, which is 1' or less in length; leaves rather thin, turning dark red after frost, moderately (rarely very deeply) pinnatifid, the lobes acuminate from a broad base, with a few coarse teeth; bark of trunk dark gray, smoothish.--Common both in rich and poor soil, westward to E. Minn. and E. Kan. Timber coarse and poor.--Var. RUNCINATA, A. DC., is a form with regular nearly entire lobes and the fruit nearly a half smaller; found near St. Louis.

12. Q. coccinea, Wang. (SCARLET OAK.) _Cup top-shaped, or hemispherical with a conical base_ (7--9'' broad), coarsely scaly, covering half or more of the _broadly or globular-ovoid acorn_, the scales somewhat appressed and glabrate, or in western localities yellowish-canescent and squarrose as in var. tinctoria; leaves in the ordinary forms, at least on full-grown trees, bright green, shining above, turning red in autumn, deeply pinnatifid, the slender lobes divergent and sparingly cut-toothed; buds small; acorns 6--9'' long; bark of the trunk gray, the interior reddish.--Moist or dry soil; common, from S. Maine to Del., Minn., N. Mo., and south in the mountains.

Var. tinctoria, Gray. (QUERCITRON, YELLOW-BARKED, or BLACK OAK.) Leaves with broader undivided lobes, commonly paler and somewhat pubescent beneath, turning brownish, orange, or dull red in autumn; cup-scales large and loosely imbricated or squarrose when dry, yellowish gray, pubescent; bark of trunk darker-colored and rougher on the surface, thicker, and internally orange, much more valuable for the tanner and dyer; buds longer and more pointed; cup sometimes less top-shaped. (Q. tinctoria, _Bartram_.)--Dry or gravelly uplands, S. Maine to S. Minn., E. Neb. and Tex. Intermediate forms connect this with the type. The bark is largely used in tanning.

Var. ambigua, Gray. (GRAY OAK.) Found along our northeastern borders to Lake Champlain and northward, figured and briefly characterized by Michaux as with the foliage of Q. rubra and the fruit of Q. coccinea. It was considered by Dr. Engelmann as a form of Q. rubra with cups hemispherical or even turbinate.

13. Q. palustris, Du Roi. (SWAMP SPANISH or PIN OAK.) _Cup flat-saucer-shaped_, sometimes contracted into a short scaly base or stalk, fine-scaled (5--7'' broad), _very much shorter than the usually globose or depressed acorn_, which is 5--7'' long; leaves deeply pinnatifid with divergent lobes and broad rounded sinuses.--Low grounds; rather common, from Mass. to Del. and Md., west to Minn., E. Kan., and Ark.

[+][+] _Mature leaves soft-downy beneath; cup saucer-shaped, with a somewhat top-shaped base, about half the length of the fully developed small acorn._

14. Q. falcata, Michx. (SPANISH OAK.) _Leaves grayish-downy or fulvous underneath_, obtuse or rounded at base, _3--5-lobed above_ (sometimes entire); _the lobes prolonged, mostly narrow and more or less scythe-shaped_, especially the terminal one, entire or sparingly cut-toothed; acorn globose, 4--5'' long.--Dry or sandy soil, Long Island to Fla., and from S. Ind. to Mo. and Tex. A large or small tree, extremely variable in foliage; bark excellent for tanning.

15. Q. ilicifolia, Wang. (BEAR or BLACK SCRUB-OAK.) _Dwarf_ (3--8 deg. high), straggling; _leaves_ (2--4' long) thickish, _obovate, wedge-shaped at base, angularly about 5- (3--7-) lobed, white-downy beneath_; lobes short and triangular, spreading; acorn ovoid, globular, 5--6'' long.--Sandy barrens and rocky hills, N. Eng. to Ohio and Ky.

[*][*] _Leaves entire or with a few teeth (or somewhat 3--5-lobed at the summit), coriaceous, commonly bristle-pointed; acorns globular, small (not over 6'' long)._

[+] _Leaves thick, widening or often much dilated upward and more or less sinuate or somewhat 3--5-lobed; acorns globular-ovoid._

16. Q. aquatica, Walter. (WATER-OAK.) _Leaves glabrous and shining, obovate-spatulate or narrowly wedge-form, with a long tapering base_ and an often obscurely 3-lobed summit, varying to oblanceolate; cup saucer-shaped or hemispherical.--Wet grounds, around ponds, etc., Del. to the Gulf, and from Ky. and Mo. to Tex.--Tree 30--40 deg. high; running into many varieties, especially southward; the leaves on seedlings and strong shoots often incised or sinuate-pinnatifid; then mostly bristle-pointed.

17. Q. nigra, L. (BLACK-JACK or BARREN OAK.) _Leaves broadly wedge-shaped_, but sometimes rounded or obscurely cordate at the base, _widely dilated_ and somewhat 3-lobed (rarely 5-lobed) at the summit, occasionally with one or two lateral conspicuously bristle-tipped lobes or teeth, rusty-pubescent beneath, shining above, large (4--9' long); _cup top-shaped_, coarse-scaly; acorn short-ovoid.--Dry sandy barrens, or heavy clay soil, Long Island to S. Minn., E. Neb., and southward. A small tree (sometimes 30--40 deg. high), of little value.

[+][+] _Leaves not dilated upward, generally entire; acorn globose._

18. Q. imbricaria, Michx. (LAUREL or SHINGLE OAK.) _Leaves lanceolate-oblong_, thickish, smooth, and _shining above, downy underneath, the down commonly persistent_; cup between saucer-shaped and top-shaped.--Rich woodlands, Penn. to Ga., west to S. Wisc., Iowa, E. Neb., and N. Ark.--Tree 30--90 deg. high. The specific name is in allusion to its early use for shingles.

19. Q. Phellos, L. (WILLOW-OAK.) _Leaves linear-Lanceolate, narrowed to both ends, soon glabrous_, light green (3--4' long); cup saucer-shaped.--Bottom lands or rich sandy uplands, Staten Island to N. Fla., west to S. Ky., Mo., and Tex.

In addition to the above, the following hybrids have been recognized:--

Q. ALBA x MACROCARPA; N. Ill. (_Bebb_); central Ill. (_Hall_).

Q. ALBA x STELLATA; N. Ill. (_Bebb_); D. C. (_Vasey_); S. C. (_Mellichamp_).

Q. ALBA x PRINUS; near Washington, D. C. (_Vasey._)

Q. IMBRICARIA x NIGRA (Q. tridentata, _Engelmann_); S. Ill. (_Engelmann_).

Q. IMBRICARIA x PALUSTRIS; Mo. (_Engelmann_).

Q. IMBRICARIA x COCCINEA (Q. Leana, _Nutt._); Ohio to Mo., and near Washington, D. C.

Q. PHELLOS x RUBRA (?) or COCCINEA (?) (Q. heterophylla, _Michx._); Staten Island and N. J. to Del. and N. C. (BARTRAM'S OAK.)

Q. PHELLOS x NIGRA (Q. Rudkini, _Britt._); N. J. (_Rudkin_).

Q. ILICIFOLIA x COCCINEA (?); Uxbridge, Mass. (_Robbins._)

7. CASTANEA, Tourn. CHESTNUT.

Sterile flowers interruptedly clustered in long and naked cylindrical catkins; calyx mostly 6-parted; stamens 8--20; filaments slender; anthers 2-celled. Fertile flowers few, usually 3 together in an ovoid scaly prickly involucre; calyx with a 6-lobed border crowning the 3--7-celled 6--14-ovuled ovary; abortive stamens 5--12; styles linear, exserted, as many as the cells of the ovary; stigmas small. Nuts coriaceous, ovoid, enclosed 2--3 together or solitary in the hard and thick very prickly 4-valved involucre. Cotyledons very thick, somewhat plaited, cohering together, remaining underground in germination.--Leaves strongly straight-veined, undivided. Flowers appearing later than the leaves, cream-color; the catkins axillary near the end of the branches, wholly sterile or the upper ones androgynous with the fertile flowers at the base. (The classical name, from that of a town in Thessaly.)

1. C. sativa, Mill., var. Americana. (CHESTNUT.) A large tree, _leaves oblong-lanceolate, pointed_, serrate with coarse pointed teeth, acute at base, when mature _smooth and green both sides_; nuts 2 or 3 in each involucre, therefore flattened on one or both sides, very sweet. (C. vesca, var., of the Manual.)--Rocky woods and hillsides, S. Maine to Del., along the mountains to N. Ala., and west to S. Mich., S. Ind., and Tenn.

2. C. pumila, Mill. (CHINQUAPIN.) A spreading shrub or small tree; _leaves oblong, acute_, serrate with pointed teeth, _whitened-downy beneath_; involucres small, often spiked; the ovoid pointed nut scarcely half as large as a common chestnut, very sweet, solitary, not flattened.--Rich hillsides and borders of swamps, S. Penn. to Fla., west to S. Ind. and Tex.

8. FAGUS, Tourn. BEECH.

Sterile flowers in small heads on drooping peduncles, with deciduous scale-like bracts; calyx bell-shaped, 5--7-cleft; stamens 8--16; filaments slender; anthers 2-celled. Fertile flowers usually in pairs at the apex of a short peduncle, invested by numerous awl-shaped bractlets, the inner coherent at base to form the 4-lobed involucre; calyx-lobes 6, awl shaped; ovary 3-celled with 2 ovules in each cell; styles 3, thread-like, stigmatic along the inner side. Nuts sharply 3-sided, usually 2 in each urn-shaped and soft-prickly coriaceous involucre, which divides to below the middle into 4 valves. Cotyledons thick, folded and somewhat united; but rising and expanding in germination.--Trees, with a close and smooth ash-gray bark, a light horizontal spray, and undivided strongly straight-veined leaves, which are open and convex in the tapering bud and plaited on the veins. Flowers appearing with the leaves, the yellowish staminate flowers from the lower, the pistillate from the upper axils of the leaves of the season. (The classical Latin name, from [Greek: pha/go], _to eat_, in allusion to the esculent nuts.)

1. F. ferruginea, Ait. (AMERICAN BEECH.) Tree 75--100 deg. high; leaves oblong-ovate, taper-pointed, distinctly and often coarsely toothed; petioles and midrib soon nearly naked; prickles of the fruit mostly recurved or spreading.--N. Scotia to Fla., west to Wisc., E. Ill., Mo., and Tex.

ORDER 104. SALICACEAE. (WILLOW FAMILY.)

_Dioecious trees or shrubs, with both kinds of flowers in catkins, one to each bract, without perianth; the fruit a 1-celled and 2--4-valved pod, with 2--4 parietal or basal placentae, bearing numerous seeds furnished with long silky down._--Style usually short or none; stigmas 2, often 2-lobed. Seeds ascending, anatropous, without albumen. Cotyledons flattened.--Leaves alternate, undivided, with scale-like and deciduous, or else leaf-like and persistent, stipules. Wood soft and light; bark bitter.

1. Salix. Bracts entire. Flowers with small glands, disks none. Stamens few. Stigmas short. Buds with a single scale.

2. Populus. Bracts lacerate. Flowers with a broad or cup-shaped disk. Stamens numerous. Stigmas elongated. Buds scaly.

1. SALIX, Tourn. WILLOW. OSIER. (By M. S. BEBB, Esq.)

Bracts (_scales_) of the catkins entire. Sterile flowers of 3--10, mostly 2, distinct or united stamens, accompanied by 1 or 2 small glands. Fertile flowers also with a small flat gland at the base of the ovary; stigmas short.--Trees or shrubs, generally growing along streams, with terete and lithe branches. Leaves mostly long and pointed, entire or glandularly toothed. Buds covered by a single scale, with an inner adherent membrane (separating in n. 14). Catkins appearing before or with the leaves. (The classical Latin name.)