496 CXXIV. CUPULIFERiE. Corylus. 



abortive rudiments ; sty. 6 ; nut mostly 1 -seeded, invested witli the 

 enlarged, echinate involucre or cupule. — Trees and shrubs. Lvs. mostly 

 deciduous., alternate., acuminate. Sterile amenls axillary^ fendulous. 

 Fruit enclosed in very frickly A-lobed burrs. 



1. C. Vesca. Gsert. 0. Ajiiericana. Michx. (Fagus Castanea. Linn.) 

 Chestnut. — Lis. oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrate, smooth 



both sides.— Abundant in particular districts throughout the U. S. It is a lofty 

 tree, with a large, straight trunk. Leaves quite large {&—%' long and a as 

 wide), with large, uniform teeth, mucronate with the prolonged, straight veins. 

 Aments as long as the leaves and so numerous as to impart their yellowish hu*e 

 to the whole tree when in blossom. The nuts are about 3 together, ot a pecu- 

 liar browTi, villous above, enclosed in the enlarged cupule or burr which is beset 

 on all sides with strong, compound, acute spines. Timber coarse-grained, 

 strong, elastic, light and very durable, hence much used for posts, &c. July.— 

 The nuts are smaller, but sweeter than those of the European variety (the SpaJi- 

 ish chestnut.) 



2. C. PUMILA. Michx. Dwarf Chestnut. Chinquapin. 



Lvs. oblong, ovate or obovate, mucronate-serrate, hoary-tomentose be- 

 neath; nut solitarv.— Sterile places, N. J., Penn. to Ga. and Tenn. ! Shrub 

 6— 12f high, much branched. Leaves 3—5' by 1^-2', smooth above, generally 

 obtuse at'base, acute at apex, margins mucronate with the projecting, straight 

 veinlets ; petioles 6" long ; under surlace nearly white. Aments axillary, the 

 lower staminate, 6—10' long, upper fertile with remote, pistillate ilowers. In- 

 volucre of fruit bristly and prickly, 4-lobed. Nut (by abortion) solitary, small, 

 ovoid, sweet. Fl. Jn. Fr. Oct. 



3. FAGUS. 



Gt. ipriyos, the beech ; it also signifies something eatalile. 



c? in a globose ament ; cal. 6-cleft, campanulate ; sta. 5 — 12. 9 

 2, within a 4-lobed, prickly involucre ; cal. single, with 4 — 5 minute 

 lobes; sty. 3; nut 1 -seeded, enclosed within the enlarged, spiny 

 involucre or capsule. — Lofty trees, with smooth, ash-colored bark. Lvs. 

 alternate, plicate in vernation, c? aments on long, pendulous jJedunclcs. 



F. SYLVATICA. Linn. 0. Americana. Nutt. (F. sylvestris. Mich.x. F. 



ferruginia. Ait.) Beech. — Lvs. broadly ovate-lanceolate, briefly petiolate, 

 obtuse at base, ciliate with soft white hairs when young, at length nearly gla- 

 brous, margin with small, remote teeth, apex acuminate ; l/tuis lanceolate- 

 cylindric, imbricated with brown scales, developing both leaves and flowers ; 

 nuts ovoid-triangular, obtuse-raucronate. — A common forest tree, abimdant in 

 N. Eng., frequent in the Western States and British provinces. The trunk is 

 tall and straight in forests, 50— 80f high, but lower and v/ith an expansive 

 head in open situations, always known by the light gray, unbroken bark. 

 Leaves with very regular and straight veirilets, 4 — 6' long, i as wide, often 

 persistent through the winter. J> aments pubescent, peduncles 2' long. Nut 

 small, 2 together in the 4-lobed burr, oily, .sweet and nutritious. Timber fine- 

 grained, wilh reddish duramen and white alburnum. May. 



Ois— The Red Beech is now regarded onlv as a variety; with the wood softer, and of more easy 

 cleavage, and perhaps a slight dilVerence in foliage. There are several beautiful varieties m cultivation, 

 wit!; purple foliage, silver foliage, &:c. (See garden catalogues.) 



4. CORtLUS. 



Gr. Kopvi, a bonnet ; to which the cupule enwrapping the nut may well be compared. 



c? in a cylindric ament; cal. scale 3-cleft ; sta. 8; anth. 1 -celled. 



9 Calyx obsolete : ova. several ; stig. 2 ; nut ovoid, surrounded with 



the enlarged, coriaceous, lacerated involucre (capsule). — Shrubs. 



Aments and capitate fertile clusters subtermmal. 



1, C. Americana. Hazel. 



Lvs. roundish, cordate, acuminate ; mvol. roundish-campanulate, muctt 



