1942 



ARBORKTUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



FART III. 



>-\ 



/ 



1831. 



toothed towards the top ; glaucous, and quite glabrous. Fruit racemose. {Hunib. el Bunp.) A very tall 

 straight tree, quite glabrous ; younger branches angular. Ix^aves 3 in. to i in. long, membranareoug. 

 Petioles about \ in. long, thickish. Male flowers beneath the female, in aggregate axillary catkins. 

 Female racemes axillary. Flowers sessile. Male flower: calvx bell-shaped, hairy on the outside 

 limb unequally dentate; stamens 5 to 8. ; anthers ;2.celled, erect, opening longitudinally. Female 

 flower: ovary globose, small; style 1, very short; stigmas .-3, spreading, thickish. A native of 

 the warm parts of Mexico, between La Venta de la Mojonera and La Venta de Acaguisocla ; 

 where it forms forests, at an elevation of above 2o(XJ ft. !,:397 toises) above the level of the sea. 

 The wood is of great value to the inhabitants, from its supplying the greatest part of the charcoal 

 consumed in Mexico. 



Q. obtusata Humb. et Bonp. PI. .^quin., t. 7G., and our fig. 18.54., Michx. X. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 112. 

 Leaves oblong; blunt at each end, unequal at the base, wavy at the margin, very veiny beneath, 

 and somewhat downy. Fruit race- 

 mose [Humb. et Bonp.) A native of 

 New Spain, near Ario, at an ele- 

 vation of about 6000 ft. (094 toises). 

 A lofty tree, with a trunk from .3 ft. 

 to 4t^. in diameter, covered with 

 a very thick deeply cracked bark. 

 Branches covered with tubercles ; 

 younger ones leafy, dow»y. Leaves 

 from 5 in. to ti in. long, leathery, 

 glabrous and shining above. Petioles 

 i in. long. Cups somewhat globose. 

 Scales closely imbricated. Nut sphe- 

 rical, nearly covered by the cup. 

 This oak is called Q. obtuskta, be- 

 cause the base, the tip, and the di- 

 visions of the leaves are blunt, and 

 without any point. The wood is 

 very compact, susceptible of taking 

 a fine polish, and of resisting a groat 

 force. The tree is remarkable for 

 its height, the thickness of its trunk, 

 the glaucous colour of the scales of 

 the cup, and, above all, by the scales 

 being imbricated the contrary way ; 

 that is to say, the point of each 

 scale is turned towards the peduncle. 

 This and Q. lanceoUXta are the only 

 Mexican species that are known to 

 have all the scales in the cup of 

 the acorn imbricated from the nut 

 to the peduncle. According to Michaux, this species is very tall, with a remarkably straight trunkj 

 and is found in the elevated and dry parts of New Spain, near Ario, where it flowers in September. 



y. pandurtila Humb. et Bonp. Pl..i;quin.,t. 77., 

 and OUT figs. 1855. and 1856., Michx. N. Amcr. 

 Syl., 1. p. 111. Leaves oval. oblong, somewhat 

 fiddle-shaped; acute at the point, unequally cor- 

 date at the base, wavy and slightly sinuate on the 

 margin, downy beneath. Fruit racemose. [Hiivih. 

 et Bonp.) Found in the same habitat as the pre- 

 ceding. A tree, from 18 (t. 

 to 24 ft. high. Branches 

 ^alternate, glabrous; the 

 younger ones coveredwith 

 'short hairs, visible to tin 

 naked eye. leaves altti- 

 nate, from .3 in. to y in. 

 long ; glabrous above, 

 downy beneath. Petioles 



1 in. long. Scales of the ^^ - > 



cupcloselv imbricated, ex- Yi •_ 



ternally convex, glaucous. lUT . -_■ - 



Nut ovate, half-covered bv the cup. This oak is '"■*" 



closely allied to Q. obtusata, but diflTers in size, 

 in (he form of the leaves, and the disposition 

 of the scales of the cup. Humboldt is of opinion 

 that the wood is lighter, and less compact, than 

 that of Q. obtusata. 



Q. rcpdnda Humb. et Bonp. PI. .Kquin., t. 79., and out fig. 1857. , Michx. N. Am. Syl., 1. p. 108. 

 Leaves oblong-oval, on short Ibotstalks ; downy beneath, glabrous above; slightly repaiid ; recurved 

 at the margin. Fruit racemo.ie. {llumh. et Bvnp.) A shrub, 2 ft. high, branched i'rom the very base, 

 procumbent or erect. Branches alternate, round, quite smooth ; younger ones covered with white 

 down. Leaves l* in. long, leathery ; younger ones lanceolate, downy on both sides, quite entire. 

 Stipules linear awl-shaped, persistent, downy. Male flowers inferior, in aggregate axillary calkin;. 

 Female flowers stiperior, axillary, and sessile. Male flower : calyx campanulatc. limb unequally den- 

 tate ; stamens 5 to 7, three times as long as the calyx, erect. A native of New Spain, in moist shady 

 places, between Real del Monte and Moran, at aii elevation of above 7700 ft. il'''9l toises). It is the 

 smallest of all the si)ecics of oak in Mexico, forming extended masses, and having the branches 

 of one interlace*! with those of another. The young shoots of Q. rcpanda agree with the description 

 of y. microph^-lla given by Nees in the Anales de las Cicnc. Nat., iii. p. 264. ; but Humboldt had 

 not seen Necs's plant, and, therefore, could not determine whether thev were the same. 



Q. Uurina Humb. et Bonp. PI. iEquin., t. 80., and out fig. 185H.. Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 108. 

 Leaves oval-lanceolate, sharjdy acwminatetl, quite glabrous: some area little 3-pointed at the tip. 

 Fruit axillary, almost sessile. {Humb. et Bimp.) A tall tree, with the habit of /.ailrus nobili.s, 

 glabrous in all parts. Leaves 2 in. to .3 in. long, leathery. Petioles alxiut j in. in length. Female 

 flowers axillary, almost sessile, and solitary. Scales of the cup ovate, obtuse, membranaceous, 

 covered e.^ternally with a peculiar down, like powder. A native of the woo<is in the temperate parts 



18.35 



