ea
,, Mezereum.
,, ,, var. alba.
,, oleoides.
Erica mediterranea.
Hamamelis arborea.
,, japonica.
,, mollis.
,, zuccariniana.
Prunus davidiana (pink and white forms).
,, Amygdalus persicoides.
Populus tremuloides pendula.
Parrotia persica.
Pyrus japonica.
Rhododendron altaclarense.
,, dauricum.
,, nobleanum.
,, praecox.

CHAPTER IX

TREES AND SHRUBS WITH BEAUTIFUL CATKINS

When thinking of trees and shrubs in early spring we must remember those
with beautiful catkins. Of the earliest flowering hardy trees and shrubs
the majority are those with flowers borne in catkins. Their appearance
is one of the first evidences of the approach of spring. It is to the
catkin-bearing group that the Poplars, Willows, Birches, and Alders
belong. These catkins are pendulous, cylindrical, and often slender
inflorescences, carrying flowers of one sex only, which spring from the
axils of scaly bracts. Being mainly dependent upon the wind for their
fertilisation, they have none of the varied or bright colours that are
characteristic of flowers fertilised by insect agency. Often, indeed,
sepals and petals are entirely absent. Still, many of these
catkin-bearers possess a charm and beauty of their own, which, taken
with the early, often inclement, season when they appear, make the best
of them indispensable in gardens where early spring effects are desired.
As a rule it is the male or pollen-bearing catkins that are most
ornamental. They are longer and more graceful than the seed-bearing
ones.

POPLARS

First among Poplars to bear its flowers, and almost before winter is
past, is the Aspen (_Populus tremula_). This and its weeping variety
bear their catkins in February, but closely following it, and perhaps
more ornamental, is the American Aspen (_P. tremuloides_). This species
flowers early in March near London in mild seasons, but later further
north, and when kept back by severe weather. The pendulous variety of
_P. tremuloides_--known commonly as Parasol de St. Julien--is, at the
flowering time, probably the most beautiful and striking of all
catkin-bearing trees. This and also the type produce long, slender
catkins that sway gently in the softest winds. The weeping variety,
which has branches that weep naturally low, looks well by itself on a
lawn. In all these Poplars the male catkins are three inches to four
inches long, chiefly grey-bro