STLKWOKM-OAKS OF NOBTHEHN CHINA. 489 



carpical hilum marked inside its periphery "by a circle of nume- 

 rous slight depressions, looking as if caused by its being stretched 

 and pricked with a needle. The style is very remarkable ; it is 

 stout, and attains a length of 2 lines or rather more, and is 

 dilated at the summit into a distinct cup, densely woolly outside, 

 which I can only compare to the mdtmum of Goodeniace^e, in- 

 side which the dark-coloured spathulate stigmata, three to five in 

 number, project. The cotyledons are plano-convex and entire. 

 Altogether, the fruit has a certain resemblance to Q. cerris, L.*, 



though both in that and Q, pseudo-suber, Santi, I find the cup-scales 

 much more rigid and solid, and triangular in section instead of 

 flat. Still, I think it not improbable that its true aflBnity is 

 rather in this direction, notwithstanding that its fruit is de- 

 scribed, apparently correctly, as annual in ripening. The ex- 

 treme closeness of Q. suber^ L., and Q. occidentalism J. Gray f, which 

 M. De CandoUe regards J as "species physiologicse potius quam 

 morphologicse," seems to indicate that this character is of very 

 slight value. Q. macranthera, F. & M., which Blume § says is 

 scarcely distinct, is described by A. De Candolle as having a 

 broader cup, the scales of which are said not to overtop it, with an 

 acorn twice the length, From the written diagnosis given, Thun- 

 berg's species would fall into the section ElacohaJwius of End- 

 licher and &ayjj, and perhaps amongst the Mesolepidia of Kot- 

 schy^. The shrub must be handsome when growing, as the 

 leaves, one of which in my possession measures 13 inches in length, 

 seem to tuna of a fine purple-red in autumn. It will be noticed 

 that Mr. Taintor was told that this oak is not used for feeding 

 the silkworm ; but, as it possesses all the distinctive characters 

 assigned by Mr. Meadows to his hoo-po-lo^ viz. the larger darker 

 leaves, larger acorns, and cup covered with longish feathery fila- 

 ments, I suspect they are identical. 



Mr. Taintor's supposed third species is represented by two 

 leaves only. These are slightly narrower, oblong rather than 

 obovate, and less broad-pointed than the others of Q. mongolica ; 

 but I can see no other difierence, except that the short white hairs 



* Kotschy, Die Eichen Europa's, t. 20 (Q. ansiriaca), 

 t Kotschy, op. cit.^ t. 33 (Q. sitber). 

 X Op. cit, p. 44. 



§ Mu8. Lugd.-Bat. i. 298. 



II Endlicher, Gen. Plant. Suppl. iv. pt. 2. p. 24 j J. Gay, in Ann. Sc. Nat. 4^ ser. 



▼i. 240. 



t Op. cit. Einleit. 



- 2 K 2 



