2318

AHBOItETUM AND 1'UUTICETUM.

PART III.

distinguished from A. orientalis Tourn, P. orientalis Lamb. Pin., t. 39., anearly related species from Armenia and the western parts of Georgia , byits more compressed and slenderer leaves, and by its larger cones withbroader scales. Cones of this species were first sent to the Earl of Hope-toun, by Dr. Govan of Cupar, in 1818; who had received them from hisson in the East Indies, under the name of khutrow; and from these seedssix plants were raised the same year. After having been kept in pots fortwo years, two of them were planted in the arboretum at Hopetoun House,one was sent to the Horticultural Society of London, and the remainder tothe Botanic and Experimental Gardens at Edinburgh . We have alreadymentioned that the larger of the two at Hopetoun House was 17 ft. 6 in. inJune, 1837; the diameter of the trunk, at 1 ft. from the ground, 2 ft. 2 in.;and of the space covered by the branches, 11 ft. The branches, Mr. Smithinforms us, are a little pendulous; and the leading shoot, in 1836, wasabout 18 in. long. Some scions from the side branches of this tree havebeen grafted, in the herbaceous manner, on the common spruce, at theheight of 4 ft. or 5 ft. from the ground, allowing three or four tiers of branchesof the spruce to remain; and the contrast between these branches andthose of the Himalayan spruce is very striking. Several plants have beenraised from the trees at Hopetoun House by cuttings, which form as hand-some young trees as those raised from seed. Cones and seeds have sincebeen received by different persons ; and there are several in Lawson’s museum,Edinburgh . These cones, it is observed, are in size and shape somewhatresembling those of A. excelsa, but differ in their scales, which are almostround and entire on the margin ; while those of the Norway spruce are of arhomboidal shape, and rugged or notched on the outer extremity. The seedsand wings are also very similar. ( Lawson’s Manual, p. 370.) There canbe little or no doubt, but that this tree is as hardy in the climate of Britain as the common spruce; and, as it is unquestionably more ornamental, itwell deserves a place in every collection. It is readily propagated by cut-tings ; and, as the trees in this country will probably in a short time pro-duce cones, plants, if there should be an extensive demand for them, willsoon be nearly as cheap as those of the common spruce fir. In the meantime, the price, in the London nurseries, is 21s. each. A great many plantsof this species have been raised in Knight’s Exotic Nursery, from seedsreceived from the Himalayas , and extensively distributed under the name ofP. Pindrow. Some confusion in the description of this species, in the PennyCyclopcedia and in Lawson’s Manual, has resulted from the cones in Dr.Wallich’s figure being placed upright, which, if they had been actually so,would have constituted it a Picea ; and, accordingly, Dr. Lindley calls it theIndian silver fir. (See Professor Don, in Lambert’s third volume, t. 88.)i 6. A. (? e.) orienta'lis Tourn. The Oriental Spruce Fir.

Identification. Tourn. Cor., 41.; Du Ham. Arb., 1. p. 4.

Synonyme. Pinus orientalis Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 1. t. 39., Lin. Sp. Pi., 1421., Syst ., ed. Reich., 4.

p. 178., Vitman . Sp. Pi., 5. p. 346.

Engraving. Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 1.1. 39.

Spec. Char., $c. Leaves solitary, tetragonal. Cones ovate-cylindrical; scales rhomboid. {Lamb.Pin.) Mr. Lambert states that he inserts this species on the authority of Tournefort , who says( Voy. du Levant, p. 288.) that he found it growing in the vicinity of Trebisonde, where it is knownby the name of elate. Its trunk and branches he states to be about the size of those of Picea pectin&ta. The leaves are 4 or 5 lines in length, and not more than half a line in breadth ; theircolour is a shining greenish brown. The cones are described as being nearly cylindrical, aboutin. long, and 8 or 9 lines in diameter ; pointed, and composed of soft, thin, rounded scales, whichcover very minute and resinous seeds. The above description was written in 1804, before Mr-Lambert had seen a specimen of A. orient&lis, either recent or dried, from a drawing made of theplant in the time of Tournefort . Previously to the publication of his second edition, Mr. Lambertreceived a specimen from Sir Gore Ousely, collected by that gentleman in the vicinity of Teflis;from examining which, he states the specific distinctions of A. orientalis to be: “short quadran-gular leaves, closely and imbricately arranged on the branches; and oblong elliptical cones, fourtimes shorter than those of A. excelsa, with rhomboidal entire scales. The leaves are twice or

thrice shorter than |those of A. excelsa, and are distinctly mucronulate, not pointless, as repte*sented in Mr. Lambert’s figure. The scales of the cone finally become emarginate, or slightlycrenulate. Mr. Lambert’s figure being, according to his own account, very imperfect, we havenot copied it. We have already mentioned, under A. filba, the.opinion of Loiseleur Deslong*champs (formed, as he states, after comparing the drawings made for Tournefort with the sp^ 1 *mens of A. Mba brought from America by Michaux), that A. orientalis is only a variety of thatspecies. (See N. Du Ham., v. p. 291.) We think it only a variety of A. excelsa.