CHAP. CXI1I.
CONI'FERvE. ^t'BIES.
2319
Sect. ii. Leaves Jlat, generally glaucous beneath, imperfectly
2-rowed.
i 7. A. Dougla's// Lindl. The tr'ulent-bracted, or Douglas’s, Spruce Fir.
Identification. Lindl. in Penn. Cyc., 1. p. 32.
Synonymes. P. texifblia Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 2. t. 47., Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 640. ; A. Califor-nia Hort. j Pinus Douglas» Sabine MSS., Lamb. Pin., vol. S. t. 90. ; the Nootka Fir, Smith in Rees'sCyc., No. 28.
Engravings. Lamb. Pin. ed. 2., 2. t. 47., and vol. 3. t. 90.; our fig. 2230., from a specimen andsketch sent to us by Mr. M‘Nab, jun., of the Caledonian Horticultural Society’s Garden ; and theplate of this species in our last Volume, taken from the young tree in the London HorticulturalSociety’s Garden, and from a drawing in the possession of the Horticultural Society.
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves flat, blunt, entire, pectinate, silvery beneath. Conesovate-oblong. Bracteas elongated, linear, 3-pointed. (J). Don in Lamb.Pin.) Leaves from 1 in. to lx in. long. Cones from 3| in. to 4 in. long,and 1 ^ in. to ljin. broad; scales, without the bractea, 1 a in. long, andthe same broad; with the bractea, 1 a in. in length. Seed, with the wing,5-in. long, and fin. broad ; without the wing, fin. long, and -A. in. broad.The seeds are about the same size as those of Picea pectinata, but moreoblong. Cotyledons, ?. A native of the north-west coast of North Ame-rica, where it was discovered by Menzies about 1797, and afterwards byDouglas, who introduced it in 1826. It flowers at Dropmore in May.
Varieties. Pursh states that he has among his specimens two varieties, orprobably distinct species, which, for want of the fructification, he can notdecide upon. One has acute leaves, green on both sides; and the otheremarginate leaves, glaucous beneath. The seedling plants of A. Douglas»,raised in England, exhibit some difference in the length and width of theirfoliage; but, as far as we have observed, none worthy of being propagatedby extension as a distinct variety. Mr. M‘Nab, jun., and Mr. Lawson, how-ever, inform us that there is a very distinct variety in several gardens inthe neighbourhood of Edinburgh, which was raised from seeds sent homeby Drummond. The largest specimen is in the collection at Lahill, nearLargo, in Fife, where it is 14ft. high; and there is one in the CaledonianHorticultural Society’s Garden, under the name of A. /axifolia, which, in1837, was 5 ft. high. From what Mr. M‘Nab, jun., told us, it may bedescribed as follows : —
t A. D. 2 t axifblia. — Stem and side branches straight; while in A. Dou-glas» they are always, when young, more or less in a zigzag direction,though they become eventually straight. Leaves twice the lengthof those of A. Douglas», and of a much deeper green. Fig. 2230,is from a specimen and asketch received from Mr. >
M‘Nab, showing the foliageand manner of branching ofA. Douglas» in the Cale-donian Horticultural So-ciety’s Garden, and whichcorresponds exactly withthe trees of this name in theLondon Horticultural So-ciety’s Garden, and at Drop-more. Fig. 2231. is from asketch of the mode of rami-fication and of the foliage ofa tree named A. taxifolia inthe Edinburgh Botanic Gar-den, and which was raisedfrom seeds received from thethe arctic expedition. It is, Mr. M‘Nab observes, an upright-growingtree; and,with its long and dark leaves, very distinct from all thespecimens of A. Douglas» that he had seen elsewhere. The tree7 b
late Mr, Thomas Drummond, after