CHAP. CV.

couvla'ce®. casta'nea.

1983

Spec. Char., ^c. Leaves ovate-lan-ceolate, somewhat rhomboid,pointed; serrated, coriaceous,shining, glabrous; wedge,

shaped, and oblique at the base,on very short footstalks. Peri-anth of the male ternate, cara-panulate, 4—5-lobed. Anthers

8—10. Cupules involucriform,smooth, 4-partite; segments al-most linear, laciniate. Ovarieslaterally exserted, 3-sided ; an-gles marginate. (Mirb.) A talltree, a native of Chili, where itwas found, along with F. ob-liqua, by the botanist afterwhom it has been named. Itis known in Chili by the nameof Coigue, and furnishes excel-lent wood for tlie purposes ofconstruction. Young branchesdowny, glutinous. Leaves al-ternate, from 5 to 10 lines long,and from 3 to 5 lines broad, onthe flowering branches, andabout double the size on the ste-rile branches. Stipules oval, de-ciduous, about the length of the petiole. Fruit unknown. (Mdm. Mas ., xiv. p. *08.)

1 10. F. du'bia Mirb. The dubious Beech.

Identification. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26.

Engravings. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26.; and owi fig. 1932.

Spec. Char., $c. Leaves ovate, bluntish, doubly serrate, coriaceous, shining, glabrous ; round at thebase, on short footstalks. Perianth of the male solitary, turbinate, 5—7-lobed. Anthers 10—16.(Mirb.) It is extremely probable that theF. ddbia is nothing more than a variety of F. detuloldes.The branches are smoother and more elongated; the leaves larger, oval, and not elliptic; and den-tate, not crenulate ; all which differences may be the result of a more vigorous growtii. The driedspecimen in other respects perfectly resembles that of F. ietuldides; and Commerson, who gatheredit at the Straits of Magellan, had placed it along with that species, under the name oflfetulaantarctica. As Mirbel had not seen the female flower, he thought it better not to confound itwith F. ietuloldes.

Genus III.

m

CASTA'NEA Tourn. The Chestnut. Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia Polyandria.

Identification. Tourn., 352.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460.; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 65.

Synonymes. F&gus Lin. and others ; Ch&taignier, Fr. ; Kastanie, Ger. ; Castagno, Ital. \ Castano,Span.-, Castanheiro, Port. ; Castanietr®, Swed. and Ban.-, Keschton, Russ.

Derivation. From Castanea, a town in Thessaly, or from another town of that name in Pontus.

Descriptum , §c. Deciduous trees, with nearly the same geographical dis-tribution as the oak, but more tender. There is only one European species,which is chiefly valuable as a fruit tree, anti as coppice-wood ; the timber offull-grown trees being brittle, and of short duration. The foliage is large andornamental; and, in this and its fruit, it bears a close analogy to the beech.The botanical difference between the two genera has been noticed in p. 1949.

5 1. C. ve'sca Gccrtn. The eatable, sweet, or Spanish, Chestnut.Identification. Gajctn. Sem., 1. p. 181.; Michx. Amer., 2. p. 193.; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 460. ; Lindt.Synop., p. 171.

Synonymes. Fkgus Castanea I.in. Hort. Cliff, 447., Hort. Ups., 287., Roy. Lugdb., 79., Mat.Med., 203., Dalib. Paris., 294., Gron. Virg., 150., Du Roi Harbk., 1. p. 270., Kniph. Cent., 5.No. 31., Ri-en, Rot.-, Cast&nea sativa Mill. Diet., No. 1., Scop. Cam., No. 1187., Hall. Helv.,No. 1623., Blackiv., t. 330., Hoult. Lin. Pfi., 2. p. 328.; C. vulgaris Lam. Encyc., 1. p. 708.,N. Du Ham., 3. p. 66., Eng. Rot., t. 886., Eng. FI., 4. p. 151., Hook. Br. FI., ed. 3., p. 411.,Mackay FI. Hibern., p. 251.

Derivation. The term Sweet Chestnut is applied with reference to the fruit, in contradistinction tothe fruit of the horsechcstnut, which is bitter. It is called the Spanish chestnut, because the bestchestnuts for the table, sold in the London markets, are imported from Spain.

Engravings. Eng. Hot., t. 886.; Blackw., t. 330.; Hunt. Eve!., 1. p. 152.; N. Du Ham., 3.1.19.; andtne plates of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., #c. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated ;glabrous on each side. ( Willd.') A stately tree, rivalling the oak in sizeand longevity; but, in regard to its timber, comparatively worthless. Anative of Asia Minor; but cultivated in the temperate parts of Europefrom time immemorial.

6 N