1942

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

toothed towards the top ; glaucous, and quite glabrous. Fruit racemose. ( Humb. et Bmp.) A very tallstraight tree, quite glabrous; younger branches angular. Leaves 3 in. to 4 in. long, membranaceous.Petioles about £ in. long, thickish. Male flowers beneath the female, in aggregate axillary catkins.Female racemes axillary. Flowers sessile. Male flower: calyx bell-shaped, hairy on the outsidelimb unequally dentate; stamens5 to 8.; anthers 2-celled, erect, opening longitudinally. Femaleflower: ovary globose, small; style 1, very short; stigmas 3, spreading, thickish. A native ofthe warm parts of Mexico, between La Venta de la Mojonera and La Venta de Acaguisocla;where it forms forests, at an elevation of above 2300 ft. (397 toises) above the level of the sea.The wood is of great value to the inhabitants, from its supplying the greatest part of the charcoalconsumed in Mexico.

Q. obtusata Humb. et Bonp. PI. A2quin., t, 76., and our Jig. 1854., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 112.Leaves oblong; blunt at each end, unequal at the base, wavy at the margin, very veiny beneath,and somewhat downy. Fruit race-mose {Humb. et Bonp.) A native ofNew Spain, near Ario, at an ele-vation of about 6000 ft. (991 toises).

A lofty tree, with a trunk from 3 ft.to 4 ft. in diameter, covered witha very thick deeply cracked bark.

Branches covered with tubercles;younger ones leafy, downy. Leavesfrom 5 in. to 6 in. long, leathery,glabrous and shining above. Petiolesi in. long. Cups somewhat globose.

Scales closely imbricated. Nut sphe-rical, nearly covered by the cup.

This oak is called Q. obtusata, be-cause the base, the tip, and the di-visions of the leaves are blunt, andwithout any point. The wood isvery compact, susceptible of takinga fine polish, and of resisting a great ,force. The tree is remarkable for ’its height, the thickness of its trunk,the glaucous colour of the scales ofthe cup, and, above all, by the scalesbeing imbricated the contrary way *,that is to say, the point of eachscale is turned towards the peduncle.

This and Q. lanceolkta are the onlyMexican species that are known tohave all the scales in the cup ofthe acorn imbricated from the nutto the peduncle. According to Michaux, this species is very tall, with a remarkably straight trunk jand is found in the elevated and dry parts of New Spain, near Ario, where it flowers in September.

y. pandur&ta Humb. etBonp. P1.7Equin.,t.77.,and our Jigs. 1855. and 1856., Michx. N. Amer.

Syl., 1. p. 111. Leaves oval-oblong, somewhatfiddle-shaped; acute at the point, unequally cor-date at the base, wavy and slightly sinuate on themargin, downy beneath. Fruit racemose. {Humb.et Bonp.) Found in the same habitat as the pre-ceding. A tree, from 18 ft.to 24 ft. high. Branchesalternate, glabrous; theayounger ones coveredwith"short hairs, visible to thenaked eye. Leaves alter-nate, from 3 in. to 5 in.long; glabrous above,m downy beneath. Petioles

" 1 in. long. Scales of the

1855 cupclosely imbricated, ex-

1003 ternally convex, glaucous.

Nut ovate, half-covered by the cup. This oak isclosely allied to Q. obtusata, but differs in size,in the form of the leaves, and the dispositionof the scales of .the cup. Humboldt is of opinionthat the wood is lighter, and less compact, thanthat of Q. obtusdta.

Q. repdnda Humb. et Bonp. PI. AEquin., t. 79., and our Jig. 1857., Michx. N. Am. Syl., 1. p. 108.Leaves oblong-oval, on short footstalks ; downy beneath, glabrous above; slightly repand; recurvedat the margin. Fruit racemose. {Humb. et Bonp.) A shrub, 2 ft. high, branched from the very base,procumbent or erect. Branches alternate, round, quite smooth ; younger ones covered with whitedown. Leaves l£in. long, leathery; younger ones lanceolate, downy on both sides, quite entire.Stipules linear awl-shaped, persistent, downy. Male flowers inferior, in aggregate axillary catkins.Female flowers superior, axillary, and sessile. Male flower : calyx campanulate, limb unequally den-tate ; stamens 5 to 7, three times as long as the calyx, erect. A native of New Spain, in moist shadyplaces, between Real del Monte and Moran, at an elevation of above 7700 ft. (1291 toises). It is thesmallest of all the species of oak in Mexico, forming extended masses, and having the branchesof one interlaced with those of another. The young shoots of Q.. repanda agree with the descriptionof Q. microph^lla given by Nees in the Anales de las Cienc. Nat., iii. p. 264.; but Humboldt hadnot seen Nees’s plant, and, therefore, could not determine whether they were the same.

Q. J a&rina Humb. et Bonp. PI. AEquin., t. 80., and our Jig. 1858., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 108.Leaves oval-lanceolate, sharply acuminated, quite glabrous: some area little 3-pointed at the tip.Fruit axillary, almost sessile. {Humb. et Bonp.) A tall tree, with the habit of Laurus nobilis,glabrous in all parts. Leaves 2 in. to 3 in. long, leathery. Petioles about | in. in length. Femaleflowers axillary, almost sessile, and solitary. Scales of the cup ovate, obtuse, membranaceous,covered externally with a peculiar down, like powder. A native of the woods in the temperate parts