The _bark_ is deeply divided into broad flat ridges, often becoming
shaggy. The twigs, brittle at the base, are glabrous or pubescent,
bright red-brown becoming darker with age. The _winter buds_ are 1/8
inch long, covered with a single smooth scale. The _wood_ is soft,
light, close-grained, light brown and weak. It is often used in the
manufacture of artificial limbs.
The alternate simple _leaves_ are 3 to 6 inches long, and one-half inch
wide on very short petioles; the tips are much tapered and the margins
are finely toothed. They are bright green on both sides, turning pale
yellow in the early autumn. The _flowers_ are in catkins, appearing with
the leaves, borne on separate trees. The staminate flowers of the black
willow have 3 to 5 stamens each, while the white willow has flowers with
2 stamens.
The native peach-leaved willow, _Salix amygdaloides_ Anders., is a
smaller tree with leaves 2 to 6 inches long, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches wide,
light green and shining above, pale and glaucous beneath, on petioles
about 3/4 inch long.
The white willow, _Salix alba_ L., and the crack willow, _Salix
fragilis_ L., with bright yellow twigs, are European species which are
often planted for ornamental purposes. Their flowers have only 2
stamens each and their leaves are silky, bright green above and
glaucous beneath. The latter has twigs that are very brittle at the
base. Another European species is the weeping willow, _Salix
babylonica_ L., which may be known by its slender drooping branches.
+BLACK WALNUT+ _Juglans nigra_ L.
[Illustration: BLACK WALNUT