p. SHRENKIANA AND PUNGENS 109 



Shrenkiana, which so far with us ranks among the 

 rarities. As far as a limited and local experience 

 goes, this tree seems to thrive in some of the highly 

 situated positions of this neighbourhood (the borders 

 of Herefordshire and Radnorshire), localities which 

 are 'counted by unkind critics from more balmy 

 regions as examples of climatic severity. Two or 

 three young specimens have w^eathered the conditions 

 of 191 5 and 1916, which included fourteen degrees 

 of frost on May 20th in one year, and the coldest 

 succession of continual north wind blasts we, or any 

 one living, can ever remember, and which for the first 

 time in the memory of man " browned " the exposed 

 side of many of our inland-growing Conifers. 



Its appearance rather suggests a pocket edition 

 of the Smithiana. The leaves are shorter, and those 

 on a bough before me are from | to i in. long, and 

 mounted on unusually high pegs or pulvini. They 

 not only point forward, but point forward so pointedly 

 that their tips almost touch the branch. 



Another peculiarity of its appearance as a tree 

 is the long terminal shoot, which is twice the length 

 of the longest branchlet in the whorl and more than 

 twice as thick. The terminal shoot before me 

 measures nearly two inches round its base. The 

 cones on a local tree are 2^ in. long (W. Banks, Esq., 

 Hergest Croft, Kington), while of those I have ob- 

 tained from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Petrograd, 

 the longest measures 4 in. 



P. PuNGENS, especially in the blue form (var. 

 Glauca) is seen everywhere, and often called Parryana, 

 after its discoverer. Dr. C. C. Parry, who found it in 

 1862. A form called Kosteri Pendula claims to be, 

 and is, more brilliantly blue still. Many trees that 

 are written down Engelmannii turn out to be P. 

 Pungens. 



