Flora Medica

SALICACE^E.Nat.syst. ed.2. p. 186.SALIX.Catkins many-flowered, imbricated ; composed of a singleflowered,flexible bract. $ A . small, lateral, abrupt gland, sometimesdouble. Filaments 1-2-3-5, or more, longer than thebract; in some partly combined. Anthers 2-lobed; openinglongitudinally. $>. A nectariferous gland. Ovary ovate, 1 -celled,many-seeded. Style terminal, permanent stigmas 2, notched;and obtuse, or cloven and acute, spreading. Capsule ovate, of1 cell, with 2 revolute, concave valves. Seeds numerous, minute,oval, tufted with soft, simple, upright hairs.Willow bark has been found to contain a substance called Salicine,which is an efficacious substitute for sulphate of quinia, as the barkitself, which is an astringent tonic, is for cinchona. It is by no meanssatisfactorily ascertained what species contain this principle in thegreatest abundance. Mr. Pereira believes the best practical rule tofollow is to select those willows whose barks are most intensely bitter.I give those species which have been spoken of most favourably.648. S. Russelliana Smith, fl.brit. 1045. Eng. Bot. 1. 1808.Eng. Fl. iv. 186. Marshy grounds in various parts of Europe.Branches long, straight and slender, not angular in their insertionlike S. fragilis, and the trees, when stripped of their leaves, may alwaysbe distinguished by these marks. They are polished, very tough,flexible, round and smooth. Leaves lanceolate, firm, very smooth,except a little silkiness in the bud ; the'r base tapering, not rounded,nor do they at any period approach to the broad ovate form ofS. fragilis ; they are strongly, and rather coarsely, serrated throughout;the midrib stouter than S. fragilis. Footstalks smooth, channelled,glandular, either along their edges, or about the summit, where theyoccasionally bear 2 or more small lanceolate leaflets. Stipules halfovate,toothed or cut, not constantly present. Fertile catkins,more lax and tapering than those of S. fragilis, their common receptacleless downy. Scales oblong, either smooth or hairy, deciduous.Ovary lanceolate, tapering, smooth, on a smooth stalk, at whose baseon the inside, is a large, abrupt, solitarj', glandular nectary. Styleequal in length to the deeply divided stigmas. The ovary protrudes,beyond the scale, nearly half its own length. Smith. Sir JamesSmith tells us that this is the most valuable officinal species, and thatif practitioners have been sometimes disappointed in its use, they probablychanced in such cases to give S. :fragilis an allied but differentspecies which is almost inert.317