ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW. 
BULLETIN 
OFr 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
No. 4. 1911 
XVIIL—OSMANTHUS AQUIFOLIUM AND O. FORTUNEI. 
O. STapr. 
For a long time two plants have been in cultivation under the 
name of Osmanthus Aquifolium. Horticulturists have been aware 
of it, and twice an attempt has been made to discriminate between 
them and to define them technically, but with so little success that 
no notice was taken of it in systematic and floral works. is 
was no doubt due to the fact that the distinctions relied upon were 
taken from the leaf characters which by most authors were con- 
sidered as extremely variable, and therefore unsuitable. Although 
a considerable variability in size, shape and degree of dentation of 
the leaves cannot be denied, there are limits to it which allow us 
to recognise two types of leaves which are moreover constantly 
correlated with floral characters, and in this way make it possible 
to distinguish two well-defined units within what is commonly 
called Osmanthus Aquifolium. 
The name Osmanthus Agquifolium appears for the first time 
in Siebold and Zuccarini, “ Florae Japonicae Familiae Naturales,” 
sect. alt. (1846) p. 42, as a synonym of Ola Aquifolium, 
yms 
refer to the plant generally known in Japan as “ Firagi” or 
“Hiragi.” The excellent figure of it in Honzo Zufu (1828), vol. 88, 
sometimes 1 or 2 or 4—large spinescent teeth on each side, and 
they are commonly 4-5 cm. long and 2°5 em, wide. Occasionally 
the leaves are quite entire, and then frequently more lanceolate. 
The teeth vary from 0°5 to 1 cm. in length. The flowers measure 
about 8-9 mm. in diameter, the calyx segments are ovate, and 
subobtuse to almost acute, the petals oblong, 4—5 mm. by 2~2°5 mm., 
the filaments more than half the length of the petals, and distinctly 
(19444—6a.) Wt, 92—428, 1125, 5/11, D&S, 
