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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.--Salix nigra.]
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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.--Juglans cinerea.]
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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.--Juglans nigra.]
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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.--Carya alba.]
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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.--Carya tomentosa.]
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.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.--Carya porcina.]
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.