GENUS FITZROYA. 49 



of the tree, but situation must be attended to. Preferable, 

 perhaps, is soil of a peaty loam or rich alluvial deposit, the 

 latter particularly if a certain proportion of sand is present. 

 Situation is evidently of far more importance, and this should 

 always be sheltered and free from cold draughts, else the 

 tree soon assumes a wretched and meagre appearance. It 

 has attained to nearly 50 feet in height in various parts of Great 

 Britain. The timber produced in its native country is highly 

 valued, and good examples of it may be seen in the museum 

 at Kew. 



FITZROYA (J. D. Hooker). 



Flowers dioecious. 



Cones solitary, terminal, globose or star-shaped, and con- 

 sisting of nine scales. 



Scales in whorls of three, the intermediate three only being 

 fertile. 



Seeds winged, three under each fertile scale. 



Leaves usually three-ranked, flat, stalkless, and loosely 

 imbricated. 



An evergreen tree or shrub found on the Patagonian Moun- 

 tains. In this country it rarely exceeds 18 feet in height. 



Fitzroya patagonlca,^ Hooker. Mountains of Western 

 Patagonia, Chili, Valdivia. 1 849. — Though this tree thrives well 

 in certain places and becomes a decidedly ornamental conifer, 

 yet it is not to be recommended for general planting unless in 

 the more favoured and warmer parts of the country. When 

 seen, however, under favourable conditions, it is both distinct 

 and ornamental, the deep green of the long, whip-cord-like 

 branchlets, which are usually arranged in irregular semi-droop- 

 ing masses, rendering fair-sized specimens different in appear- 

 ance to almost every other conifer. It forms no permanent 

 leader, but rather several aspiring shoots, the greater portion of 



iFor a full account of Fitzroya patagonica, as cultivated in this country, see my 

 article in The Garden, vol. xxix., 18S6, 



P 



