The FLOWERS are in [catkins], the male and female on separate trees.
The [FRUIT] is a [capsule] containing numerous minute seeds with long [silky] hairs which enable them to be blown long distances.
BLACK WILLOW (Leaf, two-thirds natural size; [fruit] and twig, natural size)
The WOOD is soft, light, and not strong. A high grade of charcoal, used in the manufacture of gunpowder, is obtained from willow wood, and it is the chief wood used in manufacture of artificial limbs.
AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Blue Beech)
Carpinus caroliniana Walt.
American hornbeam or blue beech, also known as ironwood and water beech, is a small slow-growing, bushy tree with a spreading top of slender, crooked or drooping branches. It is found along streams and in low ground, usually in the shade of other trees. Its height is usually from 20 to 30 feet and its diameter 4 to 8 inches, although it sometimes grows larger.
AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Leaf and [fruit], one-half natural size; twig, natural size)
The TRUNK is [fluted] with irregular ridges or “muscles” extending up and down the tree. The [BARK] is smooth, light brownish-gray to dark bluish-gray in color, sometimes marked with dark bands extending horizontally on the trunk.