117 



i. The palm of Goethe (Chamaerops humilis forma arbor es- 

 cens), planted in 1595; over this palm is erected a glass house 

 to protect it in cold weather. This palm is called the " Palm of 

 Goethe " because, Goethe examined it during a visit to Padua 

 in 1786, and it is said to have served as the basis of his celebrated 

 Versuch die Metamorphose der Pfianzen zu crklaren. 



2. Platanus orientalis, planted in 1680, measuring 6.50 meters 

 in circumference at the base, and having a heighth of 18 meters. 

 A number of persons can be accommodated in a hollow of the 

 old trunk. 



3. Gingko biloba, 171 years old and 20 meters high; Magnolia 

 grandiflora of the same age; Gymnocladus canadensis, 160 years 

 old. 



4. Populus alba 30 meters high ; 3.5 meters in circumference. 



5. Cedar of Lebanon {Cedrus Libani), 19 meters high and 1.9 

 meters in circumference. 



6. A Tulip tree {Liriodendron tnlipifera) more than 30 meters 

 high. 



The greenhouses contain a Cycas revoluta 146 years old, a Cycas 

 circinalis 122 years old, and a Dracaena 120 years old; a Norfolk 

 Island pine (Araucaria excelsa) 92 years old and 20 meters high, 

 sheltered by a building especially constructed for that purpose. 



The library of the Garden, comprising some ten thousand 

 volumes, includes a number of manuscripts and precious old 

 books, among which is a rare edition of Herbarium Apuleji 

 Platonici, published at Rome in 1479. This is said to be the old- 

 est known illustrated book on botany. Among the noted direc- 

 tors of this garden are mentioned Giulio Pontedera (i7 I 9 _ 57)» 

 a contemporary of Linneaus, and after whom the common pickerel 

 weed (Pontederia) of our streams and pounds was named; and 

 Saccardo (1878-1915), the celebrated mycologist, the author of 

 the noted Sylloge Fungorum, issued in 22 volumes. The article 

 concludes with a bibliography. 



