CHAP. CV.
CORYLa'C'KyE. que'rcus.
1943
misxs.
ma
mm
BE
of New Spain, near Moran. It was only found by Humboldt on the mountain Cerro de las Nahajas,at an elevation of 4800 ft. (800 toises). It is on this mountain that the stones (obsidians) are found, ingreat quantities, of which the Mexican Indians make the heads of their arrows ; and they are said,also, to make razors and knives of them. The wood is very hard, and much esteemed by the Mexicans.
Q. sider&xyla Humb. et Bonp. PI. iEquin., t. 85., and our Jig. I860., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1.p. 100. Leaves wedge-shaped, oblong; obtuse at the base; mucronate and dentate towards the tip;white with down beneath. Fruit sessile. {Humb. et Bonp.) A lofty tree, with thick rugged bark,and very hard wood. Leaves crowded, on short footstalks ; in. long, rigidly coriaceous ; glabrousabove. Female flowers generally twin, upon very short footstalks, in the axils of the leaves. Cupsglobose, closely imbricated. Scales membranaceous, roundish-oval, obtuse ; covered externally withpowdery down ; scarious and naked on the margin. Nut ovate, twice as long as the cup. A nativeof the temperate regions of New Spain, near Villalpando, in dry and arid places, at an elevation of8600 ft. (1440 toises). This is one of the most valuable species of oaks furnished by New Spain. Itattains a great height; its wood is very compact, and capable of taking a fine polish ; and it hasanother property, as rare as valuable, viz. that of hardening when exposed to moisture, or entirelyplunged in water, and never decaying in such a situation, tor this reason, it is preferred for subter-raneous works, by the miners, to every other.
WMl
Q. mexichna Humb. et Bonp. PI. .flSquin., t. 82., and our fig. 1861., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1.p. 107. Leaves oblong, blunt, with a very minute point; somewhat wavy on the margin;downy beneath. Acorns slightly stipitate. A tree, from 18 ft. to 20 ft. high. Younger branchesdowny. Leaves about 2in. long; white beneath with stellate down, glaucous above, shining,leathery; younger ones lanceolate, downy on both sides, quite entire. Male'flowers inferior, inaxillary aggregate catkins; female nearly sessile, in the axils of the leaves, almost solitary. Maleflower: one concave roundish scale, instead of a calyx; stamens constantly 7, very short Cupgoblet-shaped. Scales oval, obtuse, flat, membranaceous; covered externally with a powder-likedown. Nut ovate, terminated by the persistent style. Very common in Mexico. The wood iswhite, and neither strong nor compact; but it is much sought after for making charcoal. The youngleaves have all the characters of Q. microph^lla. (Nees.)
Q. crassipes angustifhlia Humb. et Bonp. PI. iEquin., t. 84., and out Jig. 1859., differs from Q. cr&s-sipes, in the leaves being narrowed, and more diminished towards the point. Found, along withQ. crassipes, near Ario, in the interior of Valladolid.
Q. crassipes Humb. et Bonp. PI. #iquin., t. 83., and our Jig. 1862., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1.