2448
arboretum and fkuticetum.
dart in.
trunk, smooth bark, ami rather small head. Branchletsleafy anti tetragonal. Leaves alternate or opposite, lance-olate, oblong, quite entire, glabrous, of a coriaceous tex-ture, and a glaucous green ; about 2 in. long, and nearly1 in. broad, slightly striated longitudinally. The flowersare unisexual; the male catkins are ovate-oblong-shaped,about the size of a pigeon’s egg, on a short peduncle, thick,and placed a little above the axes of the leaves. Themale catkins are comjK)sed of a great number of obtuseimbricated scales: each scale is wedge-shaped, and ab-ruptly curved inwardly at its upper extremity ; the lowerextremity is occupied by from 8 to 15 anthers, disposedin two rows. The female catkins are of the same formas the males; and they also are formed of obtuse, imbri-cated, thick, coriaceous scales. The dammar is distin-guished from the pines and firs by its female flowers beingsolitary and not twin ; and by the form and structureof its male flowers. It approaches nearest to the genusAraucaria , from which it differs in the form of its scales,in the absence of a bractea to each female flower, and byits seed being winged only on one side. {A. Rich, inDiet . Class. d'Hist. Nat., t. 5. p. 321) The tree is foundon the very summit of the mountains of Amboyna andTernate, and in many of the Molucca Islands . The wood is said to resemble that of the cedar,and to be light and of inferior quality, wholly unfit for any situation exposed to the action ofthe weather, but answering tolerably well for indoor purposes. The most interesting produce ofthe tree, however, is its resin. (See Dr. Until, in Penn. Cyc.) The resin, when it first flows fromthe tree, is soft and viscous ; but in a few days it becomes as hard as stone, and has all the transpa-rency and whiteness of crystal, especially that which adheres to the trees, and sometimes hangs fromthem in the shape of icicles. These crystals are sometimes 3 in. or 4 in. broad, and 1 ft. long, andexhibit an elegant striated appearance. They are very brittle, and, when broken, shine like glass.The resin does not retain its whiteness more than live or six months; after which it assumesabeautiful amber colour. Though the resin generally exudes naturally in great abundance, it issometimes obtained artificially by making incisions in the bark. The smell of fresh and soft dam-mar is resinous ; but, when dry, it does not em't any particular odour. When thrown upon burningcoals, it smells like turpentine and mastich. It is very inflammable, and burns without crackling,though it emits a great quantity of acidulous smoke, which produces a very unpleasant effect onthose who are unaccustomed to it (See Lambert's Pinus , ii. p. 99.) Dr. Lindley says: “ Liquidstorax is thought to be yielded by the dammar pine; and a substance called in India dammer, orcountry resin, is procured from the same plant, or from a tree which Dr. Buchanan calls Chloroxy-ion Dussada.” (Ainstie, i. p. 337., as quoted in Nag. Syst. Bot., ed. 2., 1836.) This species was intro-duced into England in 1804, by Sir Joseph Banks ; but, not being readily propagated, it is extremelyrare. The only plant that we recollect to have seen is that at Kew, where it is kept in the green-house ; though, as it is found on high mountains, it may possibly be as hardy as Cunmngh&ima.
i 2. D. austra'lis Lamb. The southern Dammar, or Kauri, Pine.
Identification. Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 2. t. 55. ,,
Synonymes. A'gathis austrMis Lindl. in Penn. Cyc. ; Cowrie tree, New Zealand Pitch tree, Kowne
Engravings. Lamb. Pin., cd. 2., 2. t. 55.; our fig. 2310. to our usual scale ; and fig. 2311. of thenatural size.
Spec. Char., $c. Leaves alternate or opposite, linear-oblong or elliptic, veinless, rigid. Cones tur-binate; scales spreading, acute at the apex. {Lamb. Pin.) A large free, a native of New Zea-land . Introduced in 1821, but requiring the protection of a green-house.
Description. A large tree, attaining the height of from 80 ft. to 140 ft. Trunk very straight, with-out branches to the height of 40 It. or 70 ft, and from 4 ft. to 7 ft. in diameter ; covered witn anentire, very thick, lead-coloured bark. Branches numerous, spreading, somewhat remote, about tnethickhess of a man’s body, divided into numerous small branches; ascending and leafy towards tnetop, naked at bottom from the falling of the leaves. Woodwhite, abounding in a liquid resin. Leaves numerous, op-posite, often (in adult trees) alternate, sessile, linear-oblong,or rarely elliptic, very similar in texture and appearance tothose of Buxus, obtuse, quite entire, emarginate, coriaceous,rigid, erect, and spreading; from Jin. to 1J in. long, and £in.to Jin. broad; flat on both sides, shining, nerveless; palegreen ; broadish at the base, not narrowed, as in D. orientdlis.
Catkins solitary, axillary on the tops of the branches, on veryshort thick footstalks; male cylindrical, erect, l in. long,
2 lines in diameter, very compact, imbricated, hard, in somehaving rounded bracteas at the base. AnthersS—6on onescale, pendulous, situated under a convex, somewhat orbicu-late, thick, bony, entirecrest, scarcely adhering together, dis-posed round the lower side of the columella, each filled withyellow pollen, 1-celled, opening longitudinally; female erect,oblong, 2 in. in length, on a very short, thick, woody, pedicel.
Cones scattered, solitary on the top3 of the branches, turbinate,erect, pedicellate: scales short, broad, wedge-shaped, thick,coriaceous, closely imbricated, ferruginous on the inside;dilated, waved, and membranaceous on the margin; thickerexternally towards the apex, woody, cartilaginous, smooth,hard, of a dull leaden ash-colour, spreading and acute at theapex: seeds in twos, wedge-shaped, brown, having at theapex on one side a membranaceous, quite entire, oblique, pale-coloured wing. {l.amb.)
Geography, History , ftc. The kauri pine is a native of New Zealand , on the banks of the riverthere which Captain Cook named the Thames. It was discovered in the year 176y, on CaptainCook ’s first voyage, and an enormous tree of it was then cut down. The straightness of the trunK,