CHAP. CV.

coryla'ce.®. que'rcus.

1845

ticultural Society’s Garden. “ So little attention,” ^

says Sir J. E. Smith , “has been paid to this speciesby botanical writers, that we can find no certain de- f,

scription or figure of it, except in Dalechamp’s Hist.

Plant, We even doubt whether the plant intended

in the first edition of the Hortus Kewensis be the true

one; yet this seems what Willdenow describes as

such. What Linnaeus briefly describes, in his Man-

tksa (496.), under the name of JEi 'sculus, seems to be

Q. Cdrris; with which latter the description copied

by Willdenow , and the specific character extracted

therefrom, well agree; but not at all with the original jg 99

and authentic specimen of Q -32'sculus in the Lin-

nrean herbarium.” ( Rees’s Cycl.) Sir James next describes the Linnacan spe-cimens ; and his descriptions agree remarkably well with the trees bearingthis name in the Horticultural Society’s Garden : — “ The branches angular,furrowed, and smooth. Leaves scattered, aggre-gate at the top from 2 in. to 3 in. long, and 111 ^

1J in. at most in breadth. Footstalks nearly <sr§l?

l'in. long; destitute of the long, linear, tufted,stipulaceous scales, or ramenta, found in Q.

Cerris, Q. -32'gilops, and Q. austriaca. Youngacorns axillary, nearly sessile, solitary, or in

pairs; the cup scaly; the size of small peas. 1700

Dalechamp represents the full-grown acorns as

about 1 in. long, embraced by a hemispherical

scaly cup, about one third that length. He

says that they are sweet and eatable; and that

they are brought to table roasted by the Spa-

niards, as well as by the rustic Italians ; but

that they are sometimes found to affect the

head like darnel.” (Ibid.) It is singular, that

very little is known respecting this tree even in

France . Bose says that it is cultivated in the

garden of the Museum; but that, as far as he „

knew, it had never produced fruit. The tree fQpuS'jn the Horticultural Society’s Garden, which ^

is upwards of 20 ft. high, has produced fruit

three or four seasons. The tree in the Hackney arboretum has also, webelieve, produced fruit. Figs. 1699. and 1700. are sprigs taken from thetree in the Horticultural Society’s Garden. Plants, in the London nur-series, are 3s. 6d. each.

'nineties. The leaves of this species vary considerably (see fie. 1701., all ofwhich grew on J v

the same tree);an d, if it weredesirable, several

varieties might be ,

selected from a

hed of seedlings,and continued by

grafting. There is a tree in the Fulham Nursery with decidedly pendulous

6 d 4