CHAP. CV.

CORYIiA'CEiE. QUE'rCUS,

1947

2-celled. Female flowers axillary, nearly solitary, sessile or on very short stalks. Scales of the cuproundish, covery with powdery down. Ovary globose. Styles 2. A native of the mountains ofMexico , in moist shady situations, and frequent near Moran, an elevation of 18,(XX) ft. (3000toises); where it covers whole hills. It is remarkable for its small size, evergreen leaves, and longdowny catkins of male flowers. Humbolt called it Q. depressa, because its branches are alwaysclose to the ground.

Q. ambigua Humb. et Bonp.

PL TEquin., t. 93., and our fig.

1870., Michx . N. Amer. Syl., 1.p. 111. Leaves oblong-oboval,wavy; obtuse at the base ;reticulately veined beneath,somewhat hairy. Femalespike pedunculated. {Humb.et Bonp.) A tree, 40 ft. high.

Branches and twigs round,glabrous. Leaves Sin. long,on short footstalks, somewhatmembranaceous; sometimesemarginate; glabrous andshining above, green anddowny beneath. Spikes of fe-male flowers axillary, oftentwin, on long stalks, 5 —6-flowered. Flowers downy. Anative of Mexico , near Moran,at an elevation of above 9000ft. (1500 toises.) It is closelyallied to' Q. ellfptica Nee. (See p. 1918.) It differs very littlefrom Q. elliptica Nee, and Q. spic&ta Humb. et Bonp., but itsleaves tare narrower towards their lower extremity, slightlysinuated on the margin, glaucous, and always reticulately 1873veined and hairy beneath; and the spikes of female flowers

are generally axillary, and in pairs. Our readers must not confound this Q. ambigua with the onein cultivation in British gardens, described p. 1881. Doubtless, this plant, as having had the nameapplied to it after the other, will receive an unappropriated name from some botanist who mayrevise the genus.

Q. confertifolia Humb. et Bonp. PL iEquin., t. 94., and our Jig. 1872., Michx . N. Amer. SyL, 1.p. 106. Leaves evergreen, linear-lanceolate, mucronated, recurved at the margin, quite entire •downy beneath. Fruit sessile. {Hurrib. et Bonp.) An evergreen shrub, from 15 ft. to 20 ft. high.Branches short, crowded, and leafy. Leaves 3 in. long, on short stalks, somewhat leathery; obtuse atthe base, surrounded with a cartilaginous recurved line; glabrous and shining above, downy andtransversely veined beneath. Fruit sessile on the branches below the leaves, often twin. Scales ofthe cup oval, closely imbricated, membranaceous. A native of the temperate and mountainousregions of New Spain, between the town of Guanajuata and Santa Rosa. This evergreen shrub, orlow tree, would be a great ornament to our gardens, where it would form constantly green and thickmasses of foliage ; and, from the temperate and mountainous climate of which it is a native, it wouldprobably stand in the open air perfectly well in the climate of London .

Q. trldens Humb. et Bonp. PL iEquin., t. 96., and our fig. 1873., Michx . N. Amer. Syl.,1. p. 107.Leaves oblong, retuse at the base, generally broader towards the apex, 3-dentate; teeth terminatedby bristly points : downy beneath. Spikes of female flowers almost sessile. {Humb. et Bonp.) Ashrub, about 10 ft. high, with round smooth branches. Stipules deciduous, narrow, linear. Leavesabout l|in. long, membranaceous;downy and slightly tomentose beneath,covered with stellate down above, some-times entire; narrowed towards the base.

Male flower: calyx 6—7-parted, sta-mens 8. Spikes of female flowers axil-lary, almost sessile, 3—5-flowered. Anative of New Spain, and common in thevicinity of Moran. The name Q. tridenshas been applied to this species, fromthe circumstance of the leaves being al-most constantly furnished with 3 teeth atthe apex, although otherwise entire. Itis found at an elevation of 7800 ft. (1300toises.) F. A. Michaux mentions that itis sometimes found 20 ft. high.

Q. acutifblia Willd., No. 57., Nee inAnal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 267., Fisch. Misc.

Hisp., 1 . p. 102., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 173.,

Smith in Rees’s CycL, No. 64., Humb, etBonp. pi. iEquin., t. 95., and our fig. 1874.;

Michx . N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 109. Leavescordate, lanceolate, very finely pointed ;beset on the margin with large mucronateteeth; brownish beneath ; tomentose nearthe veins. Spikes of female flowers onshort peduncles. {Humb. et Bonp.) A tall^? va luable tree, with a trunk about thethickness of a man’s body, covered withC Jn e< * bark. Leaves on longish foot-stalks, blunt; somewhat lobed at theh^se; glabrous above; covered beneathwith brown woolly tomentum; 5 in. to 6 in.long, and 1 in. to 2 in. broad. Calyx of thema e flowers constantly 5-toothed, exter-nally downy. Stamens 5—7, twice as long as the calyx. Female flowers in a spike, upon a short