FIGEA 121 



P. excelsa, var. spathulifolia. 



Buds. — Rather small; light brown; scarious, conical, 

 acute. 



Branchlets. — Pulvini very prominent; light shining 

 orange. 



Leaves. — Arranged as in the type or semi-radial, short 

 and thin with large raised keel on upper side and enlarged 

 leaf margins; ridged below. The leaves are narrowest 

 nearest the pulvini and get suddenly flatter and broader 

 near the apex, where the upper ridge disappears and the 

 apex is splayed out in a curious manner; the upper side 

 sloping abruptly, as if shced on a slant with a knife. 



Leaves light yellow-green; those above pointing forward 

 and slightly recurving, those below pointing forward and 

 curving down. 



A low-growing form, making a bush considerably wider 

 than high; distinct on account of its unusual spathulate 

 leaves. 



A plant of this form at Kew is a low- spreading bush 

 1 foot 9 inches by 4 feet 6 inches, and is about fifty years 

 planted. 



P. excelsa, var. parviformis, Beiss. (ii. 365), is sometimes 

 catalogued, but its name is somewhat deceptive, as its 

 growth is rather strong for inclusion among dwarf conifers. 

 It makes a pyramidal tree with leaves rather shorter and 

 finer than the type. 



P. excelsa, var. phylicoides, Carr. (ii. 333). 



A very dwarf, slender shrub. Branches slender, 

 spreading, deflexed. Leaves distant, 4 to 8 cm. long. 

 Stiff, roundish, spreading, thickest in middle, thinnest at 

 both ends; sometimes oblique, ending in a short point. 



I have never seen this form, the description is Carriere's. 



Beissner records the following forms of P. excelsa, which 

 I cannot find in cultivation, and from their short descrip- 

 tions, several of them do not appear to be very distinct : 



