316 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFER.E 



It was introduced in 1906 by Elwes, who obtained seeds from 

 Ottawa, and small plants have been distributed to various 

 gardens in the country. 



The timber does not appear to be separated from other species 

 for commercial purposes. 



The type will probably form a decorative tree in Britain, 

 whilst the variety conica is suitable for the rockery. 



Elwes and Henry, he. cit. vi, 1385 (1912). 



Var. conica, Gardeners' Chronicle, May 7 and 28, 1921. 



Picea asperata, Masters. (Fig. 68.) 



Picea montigena, Masters ; P. retroflexa, Masters. 



A tree up to 100 ft. high or more in Western China, resembling 

 the common spruce in habit. Bark greyish chestnut and rough, 

 peeling ofE in thin, irregularly shaped flakes. Young shoots pale 

 shining yellowish brown, deeply grooved, changing to grey as they 

 become older, mostly glabrous in cultivated plants, but occasion- 

 ally hairy in native specimens. Winter buds conical, ^^ 

 in. long, often swollen at the base, the upper scales sometimes 

 recurved at the apex. Leaves spreading all round the shoot 

 quadrangular, stiff and prickly, |-| in. long. Cones 3-5 in., 

 long, fawn grey when ripe, becoming chestnut brown with age. 

 Scales variable in shape, rounded, truncate or rhombic at the 

 summit. 



Var. notabilis, Rehder and Wils., is a name applied to those 

 forms in which the cone -scales are gradually narrowed or abruptly 

 contracted at the apex. 



Var. ponderosa, Rehder and Wils., differs in its much larger 

 cones. 



According to Wilson, this is the common quadrangular-leaved 

 spruce of N.W. Szechuen, W. China, and is especially abundant 

 in the department of Sungpan Ting, where extensive forests 

 occur. 



The following five plants appear to be closely aUied to P. 

 asperata, but we have not seen them in cultivation. 



Picea aurantiaca Masters and P. Neoveitchii Masters, of which 

 we have seen native specimens, appear to be closely aUied if not 

 identical with P. asperata. 



Picea gemmata, Rehder and WUson. A Chinese spruce which 

 is said to differ from P. asperata in its densely hairy shoots, its 

 broader cone-scales, and also in its bark. Recorded from W. 

 Szechuen. 



Picea heterolepis, Rehder and WUson. This spruce is also 

 found in W. Szechuen. It is described as having bright, orange- 

 brown, hairless shoots, elongated buds with loosely overlapping, 



