Habitat and Range.—Dry, gravelly soils, occasional in swamps and frequent along their borders, often springing up on burnt lands.
Nova Scotia to Lake Ontario.
Maine,—abundant; New Hampshire,—abundant eastward, as far north as Conway, and along the Connecticut to Westmoreland; Vermont,—common in the western and frequent in the southern sections; Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut,—common.
South, mostly in the coast region, to Delaware; west to Lake Ontario.
Habit.—A small tree, 20-35 feet high, with a diameter at the ground of 4-8 inches, occasionally much exceeding these dimensions; under favorable conditions, of extreme elegance. The slender, seldom erect trunk, continuous to the top of the tree, throws out numerous short, unequal branches, which form by repeated subdivisions a profuse, slender spray, disposed irregularly in tufts or masses, branches and branchlets often hanging vertically or drooping at the ends. Conspicuous in winter by the airy lightness of the narrow open head and by the contrast of the white trunk with the dark spray; in summer, when the sun shines and the air stirs, by the delicacy, tremulous movement, and brilliancy of the foliage.
Bark.—Trunk grayish-white, with triangular, dusty patches below the insertion of the branches; not easily separable into layers; branches dark brown or blackish; season's shoots brown, with numerous small round dots becoming horizontal lines and increasing in length with the age of the tree. The white of the bark does not readily come off upon clothing.
Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds somewhat diverging from the twig; narrow conical or cylindrical, reddish-brown. Leaves simple, alternate, single or in pairs, 3-4 inches long, two-thirds as wide, bright green above, paler beneath, smooth and shining on both sides, turning to a pale shining yellow in autumn, resinous, glandular-dotted when young; outline triangular, coarsely and irregularly doubly serrate; apex taper-pointed; base truncate, heart-shaped, or acute; leafstalks long and slender; stipules dropping early.
Inflorescence.—May. Sterile catkins usually solitary or in pairs, slender-cylindrical, 2-3 inches long: fertile catkins erect, green, stalked; bracts minutely pubescent.
Fruit.—Fruiting catkins erect or spreading, cylindrical, about 1¼ inches long and ½ inch in diameter, stalked; scales 3-parted above the center, side lobes larger, at right angles or reflexed: nuts small, ovate to obovate, narrower than the wings, combined wings from broadly obcordate to butterfly-shape, wider than long.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England, growing in every kind of soil, finest specimens in deep, rich loam. Were this tree not so common, its graceful habit and attractive bark would be more appreciated for landscape gardening; only occasionally grown by nurserymen, best secured through collectors; young collected plants, if properly selected, will nearly all live.