The Balsam Willow (S. balsamifera, Barr.) is dressed in spring, like the Balm of Gilead, in young shoots that glisten in a coating of balsam. The broad, ovate leaves are blunt at the apex, and look scarcely willow-like, but the flowers and seed pods maintain the family traditions and leave us no doubts. The tree is found in the northern tier of states and ranges far north, becoming a prostrate shrub. in its best estate it grows into a long stern crowned with a small clump of branches bearing the foliage. It is an inhabitant of cold bogs, and extends no farther west than Minnesota.
The Balsam Willow (S. balsamifera, Barr.) is dressed in spring, like the Balm of Gilead, in young shoots that glisten in a coating of balsam. The broad, ovate leaves are blunt at the apex, and look scarcely willow-like, but the flowers and seed pods maintain the family traditions and leave us no doubts. The tree is found in the northern tier of states and ranges far north, becoming a prostrate shrub. in its best estate it grows into a long stern crowned with a small clump of branches bearing the foliage. It is an inhabitant of cold bogs, and extends no farther west than Minnesota.