May 1891.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 99 



interesting and useful character, from the ornamental nature 

 of their fruit, flowers, or foliage, features which existed in a 

 remarkable degree among the numerous beautiful plants 

 introduced from Japan. Illustrative of those bearing orna- 

 mental fruit, three varieties of Aucuha japonica in berry were 

 shown — namely, A. j. macalala, the old Aucuha japonica of 

 gardens ; A. j. vera nana ; and A. j. var., a large green-leaved 

 form ; along with a specimen in flower of a strong growing 

 green-leaved male plant. The specimens of A. J. maculata. 

 and A. j. vera nana were from bushes growing fully one 

 hundred yards away from any male plant. The old variety 

 had never previously borne berries at Dalkeith. The green- 

 leaved male and female varieties were raised at Dalkeith in 

 1885, from seeds borne by a plant of A.j. vera nana, a dwarf 

 variety, which fruits very freely, the pollen-bearing parent 

 being unknown. About two-thirds of the seedlings were 

 males. The females have produced berries for the past three 

 seasons, some of them in great profusion, the berries varying 

 from almost perfectly round to a longish oval, and all of a 

 brilliant red colour. 



The old variety, the Aucuha japonica, or Spotted Laurel, 

 was introduced from Japan in 1873. Other varieties were 

 known to exist, but only the female plant was then in- 

 troduced. It has long been well known among us as one of 

 the best of shrubs for growing with success amid the dust 

 and smoke of cities, and is a special favourite with the 

 planter of ornamental grounds in town and country. For 

 some time after its introduction it was not supposed to be 

 hardy, and was grown in glass houses, like many other 

 introductions from distant countries at that period. It soon 

 proved to be among the hardiest as well as one of the most 

 beautiful of evergreen shrubs, and has long been grown in 

 every garden of any pretensions in this country. Till within 

 the last quarter of a century, however, its fruit was never 

 produced, because of the absence of the pollen-bearing parent. 

 This was at last introduced by those enterprising plant 

 collectors, Eobert Fortune and John G. Veitch, who sent 

 home several varieties of the male Aucuha from Japan in 

 1861. Now the berries are becoming common where the 

 male plant is grown near the old female variety ; and as the 

 seedlings produced appear to be very fertile, we may look 



