1862

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

1721well in the

open

Veldni Tourn. Voy., 1. p. 128.; Gl&ns Cerri Dalech, Hist., 1. p. 7., the great prickly-cupped Oak ;Chene Velani, Fr.; Chene Velan&de Bose, Knopper Eiche, Ger.

Engravings. Mill. Ic., 2. t. 215.; Oliv. Travel., t. 13.; N. Du Ham., 7. t. 51.; our Jig. 1721. j and theplates of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., §c. Leaves ovate-oblong, with bristle-pointed tooth-like lobes;hoary beneath. Calyx of the fruit very large, hemispherical, with lanceo-late, elongated, spreading scales. ( Smith .) A tree, a native of the islandsof the Archipelago, and throughout all Greece; at-taining, according to Tournefort, the dimensions ofthe common oak, in favourable situations in the Le-vant; but not growing even so high as the Turkeyoak, according to Olivier. It was introduced in1731, but has never been extensively cultivated.

Leaves stalked, about 3 in. long, bright green; a littledowny at the back; their edges very coarsely andacutely serrated, rather than lobed; each tooth tippedwith a bristly point. Acorn large, short, and a littlehollow at the top. Cup sessile, woody, 2 in. or 3 in. indiameter, from the projection of its numerous, long,oblong, reflexed, petal-like scales. The tree, accord-ing to Olivier, is not so lofty as the Turkey oak; noris the wood much esteemed, except in cabinet-work.

Miller observes that this is “ one of the fairestspecies of oak in the worldthat it thrives veryair in England, and is never injured by frost. The fruit, according toMartyn’s Miller, is called velani; and the tree, velanida, by the modernGreeks; but, according to Olivier, the name velani is applied to the tree,and velanida to the fruit. The cups and acorns are annually brought toEurope, where they are in great demand for tanning, being said to containmore tannin in a given bulk of substance than any other vegetable. Ac-cording to M'Culloch, these acorns, which are commonly called valonia,form a very considerable article of export of the Morea and the Levant;averaging, in 1831 and 1832, nearly 150,000 cwt. a year, and being sold atfrom 12/. to 15/. per ton. “ The more substance there is in the husk, orcup, of the acorn, the better. It is of a bright drab colour, which it pre-serves so long as it is kept dry; and dampness injures it, as it then turnsblack, and loses both its strength and value. It is principally used by tan-ners, and is always in demand. Though a very bulky article, it is uniformlybought and sold by weight. A ship can only take a small proportion of herregister tonnage of valonia; so that its freight per ton is always high.”( M‘Cull. Diet., p. 1203.) We agree with Miller in considering Q. ^E'gilopsas one of the most splendid species of the genus, and we would stronglyrecommend it to every lover of fine trees. A kind of gall is found on thistree, somewhat similar to that found on Q. infectoria, and which is employedin the same manner. These galls are rugose, and of an angular form ; andare either the fruit itself, distorted by the puncture of the insect, or merelythe scaly cup, which is enlarged into a gall. The insect which pierces it is,according to M. Van Burgdorf, Cynips quercus calycis. It is found inGreece, and in the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. ( Burmeister Handb.der Ent., sect. 310.) In British nurseries, Q. ^22'gilops is not very common,though there can be no difficulty in procuring acorns from the Continent.There is a tree at Syon, 22 ft. high, which bears fruit annually, and eventhe small tree at Messrs. Loddiges’s, of which a portrait is given in our lastVolume, bears fruit.

Varieties.

2 Q. JE. 2 pendula has drooping branches. There is a small tree of thisvariety in the Fulham Nursery.

1 Q. VE. 3 latifolia Hort. has leaves rather broader than the species.There is a tree of this variety in the Horticultural Society’s Garden.