Of the almost innumerable species and varieties of _Salix_, it is only a few that need be mentioned here for their beauty when in flower. So far as I have been able to judge, the most ornamental of the Willows in catkin time is _Salix smithiana_, known also as _S. mollissima_. This tree flowers about mid-March, producing its shortish, thick male catkins in very great abundance; the numerous exposed anthers give a soft but glowing yellow tone to the tree, and entitle it to rank as one of the most ornamental of early-flowering trees. The pendulous variety of _Salix Capræa_ is known as the Kilmarnock Willow. Although of weeping habit it is somewhat stiff in character; but towards the end of March and later it is exceedingly pretty loaded with its grey catkins. The flowers of the typical _S. Capræa_ (the Goat Willow) are commonly known in many country places as Palm, and are used for decorating churches on Palm Sunday. The slender, coloured twigs of the Purple Willow (_Salix purpurea_) bear red or purplish-tinted catkins in early April. _Salix stipularis_ may also be mentioned for its beauty when in flower.
With the exception of a few species, such as _Alnus nitida_ and _A. maritima_, which flower in September and October, all the Alders develop their blossoms in February and March. The common Alder (_A. glutinosa_) and its varieties are perhaps as ornamental as any at that time. Like the Willows, they look best and grow best in association with water. In such a position an Alder at that time, leafless, but laden with its slender, greenish-yellow catkins, is a beautiful object, and characteristic, too, of our English landscape. Other species possessing a similar quiet beauty are _Alnus incana_, _A. viridis_, _A. oregona_, and especially _A. cordifolia_ with its green and yellow catkins.
_Juglans sieboldiana_ and its close allies, _J. mandschurica_ and _J. cordiformis_, do not flower till May, but bear at that time very remarkable male catkins. I have measured them over one foot long, and hanging as they do in goodly number from the branches, perfectly straight and cylindrical, they have a very striking appearance, although green. All three species are alike in their catkins, but differ in the shape of the nuts. They are noteworthy, too, for the imposing character of their foliage. The leaves are pinnate, and on young trees grown in good soil are frequently three feet long. They certainly deserve the notice of planters.