1982

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM

PART III

b. Species not yet introduced.

It 3. F. obli'qua Mirb.

Identification. Mem. Mus., 14. p. 466.

Engravings. Mfem. Mus., 14. t. 23. j andour fig. 1919.

Spec. Char., Sjc. Leaves ovate-oblongoblique, somewhat rhomboid; blunt,doubly serrated, entire at the base j at-tenuated into the petiole, somewhatdowny. Perianth of the male flowerssolitary, hemispherical, sinuated. Anthers30—40. Cupules capsuliform, muricate,4 -partite; segments ovate, obtuse. Ova-ries included, 3-sided; angles winged.(Mirbel.) A tall tree, a native of Chili,and found by Dombey near Concepcion jflowering in September. In Chili, it isknown by the name] of Robl£. Leavesalternate, from 1 in. to 2 in. long, andfrom 4 lines to 8 lines broad. Stipulesdeciduous, membranaceous, lanceolate,linear ; about the length of the petioles.(Mirb. iW?«. Mus., xiv. p. 466.)

The o\}Vu\i\c-tcaved Beech.

B. Cupule involucriform ; Segments narrow, laciniate. Ovaries laterally inserted.Young leaves not plicate.

a. Species introduced into Britain.

I 4. F. Rf.tui.oi'des Mirb. The Birch-like, or evergreen, Beech.

Identification. Mirb. in Mem. Mus., 14. p. 470.; Hook, in Bot. Mag.

Synonymo. .Betula antarctica Forst. in Comm. Goett ., 9. p. 45., Wiltd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 466.

Engravings. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 25.; and o\xtfig. 1920.

Spec. Ckar., $c. Leaves ovate-elliptic, obtuse, crenulate, leathery, shining, glabrous ; round at thebase, on short footstalks. Perianth of the male flowers solitary, turbinate, 5 —7-lobed. Anthers

10 _16. Cupules involucriform, smooth, 4-partite; segments nearly linear, laciniate. Ovaries

3-sided, laterally exserted ; angles marginate. (Mirbel.) An ever-green tree, a native of Terra del Fuego,where it forms vast forests.

Branches divaricate, tortuous, brownish; young ones pubescent.

Leaves ciliate, alternate, from 4 to 10 lines long, and from 3 to8 lines broad. Flowers axillary. The structure and dispositionof the male flowers, as well as many other characters of vegetation,resemble those of F. antarctica Forst. ; but, according to thisbotanist, the leaves of F. antarctica^are plaited in the bud; andthe disk is less prolonged on one side of the petiole than on theother, which characters do not exist in F. ietuloides. (Mem. Mus.,xiv. p. 470.) The evergreen beech grows at Port Famine, Straitsof Magellan, and in its neighbourhood, in the greatest abundance.

It attains a very large size; trees of 3 ft. in diameter being common,and there being many withTrunks 4 ft. in diameter. There is onetree (perhaps the very same as that mentioned by CommodoreByron), the trunk of which averages 7 ft. in diameter to the heightof 17 ft., and then divides into three large limbs, each of which is3 ft. in diameter. (See Journ. of Geo. Soc., and Bot. Mag. for June,

1836.) This beech is also a native of Van Dieman’s Land, whereit is called the myrtle tree by' the colonists. It generally growsin the western part of the island, where an esculent fungus isfound in clusters around the swollen parts of its branches. Thisfungus varies in size from that of a marble to that of a walnut:when young, it is whitish, and covered with a skin like that of ayoung potato. This skin is easily taken off; and the remainingportion, when raw, tastes like cold cow-heel. When this fungusis matured, the skin splits, and exhibits a sort of network of ayellowish white colour. (See Backhouse in Gard. Mag., vol. xi.p. 340.; and Comp, to Bot. Mag., vol. ii. p. 340.) F. lietuloidesis said to have been introduced in 1830; but we have not seen the plant.

i 5. F. anta'rctica Forst. The antarctic Beech.

Identification. Forst. in Comment. Goett., 9. p, 24.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460.

Spec. Char.,fyc. Leaves ovate, blunt, glabrous; attenuated at the base; doubly dentate; their marginsnaked. (Willd.) A native of Terra del Fuego, and introduced in 1830. Branches rugged, tortuous.Leaves alternate, petiolate, l|in. long; plicate; veins on the under side somewhat downy; theteeth roundish, blunt. (Willd. Sp. PI., iv. p. 460.) We have never seen the plant.

b. Species not yet introduced into British Gardens.

*£ 6. F. Dombe'yJ Mirb. Dombey’s, or the Myrtle-leaved, Beech.

Identification. Mem. Mus., 14. p. 468.; Comp. Eot. Mag., 1. p. 301.

Engravings. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 24.; and ourjig. 1921.