CHAP. CV. 



CORYLA'CEiE. <^UE RCUS. 



1947 



1873 



2-celled. Female flowers axillary, nearly solitary, sessile or on very short stalks. Scales of the cup 

 roundish, covery with powdery down. Ovary globose. Styles 2. A native of the mountains of 

 Mexico, in moist shady situations, and frequent near Jloran, an elevation of 18,000 ft. (.3000 

 toises) ; where it covers whole hills. It is remarkable for its small size, evergreen leaves, and long 

 downy catkins of male flowers. Humbolt called it Q. depressa, because its branches are always 

 close to the ground. 



Q. ambigua Humb. et Bonp. 



PI. iEquin., t. 93., and our fig. 



1870., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. 



p. 111. Leaves oblong-oboval, 



wavy ; obtuse at the base ; 



reticulately veined beneath, 



somewhat hairy. Female 



spike pedunculated. (Humb. 



et Bonp.) A tree, 40 ft. high. 



Branches and twigs round, 



glabrous. Leaves 3 in. long, 



on short footstalks, somewhat 



membranaceous ; sometimes 



emarginate ; glabrous and 



shining above, green and 



downy beneath. Spikes of fe- 

 male flowers axillary, often 



twin, on long stalks, 5 — 6- 



flowered. Flowers downy. A 



native of Mexico, near Moran, 



at an elevation of above 9000 



ft. (1500 toises.) It is closely 

 allied to" Q. elKptica Nee. (See p. 1918.) It differs very little 

 from Q. elliptica Xee, and Q. spicata Humb. et Bonp., but its 

 leaves are narrower towards their lower extremity, slightly 

 sinuated on the margin, glaucous, and always reticulately 

 veined and hairy beneath ; and the spikes of female flowers 

 are generally axillary, and in pairs. Our readers must not confound this Q. ambigua with the one 

 in cultivation in British gardens, described p. 1881. Doubtless, this plant, as having had the name 

 applied to it after the other, will receive an unappropriated name from some botanist who may 

 revise the genus. 



Q. confertifoUa Humb. et Bonp. PI. ^^quin., t. 94., and our fig. 1872., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. 

 p. 106. Leaves evergreen, linear-lanceolate, mucronated, recurved at the margin, quite entire ■ 

 downy beneath. Fruit sessile. {Humb. et Bonp.) An evergreen shrub, from 15 ft. to 20 ft. high! 

 Branches short, crowded, and leafy. Leaves 3 in. long, on short stalks, somewhat leathery ; obtuse at 

 the base, surrounded with a cartilaginous recurved line; glabrous and shining above, downy and 

 transversely veined beneath. Fruit sessile on the branches below the leaves, often twin. Scales of 

 the cup oval, closely imbricated, membranaceous. A native of the temperate and mountainous 

 regions of New Spain, between the town of Guanajuata and Santa Rosa. This evergreen shrub, or 

 low tree, would be a great ornament to our gardens, where it would form constantly green and thick 

 masses of foliage ; and, from the temperate and mountainous climate of which it is a native, it would 

 probably stand in the open air perfectly well in the climate of London. 



Q. tndcns Humb. et Bonp. PI. -^quin., t. 96., and our fig. 1873., Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 107. 

 Leaves oblong, retuse at the base, generally broader towards the apex, 3-dentate; teeth terminated 

 by bristly points ; downy beneath. Spikes of female flowers almost sessile. {Humb. et Bonp.) A 

 shi»ub, about 10 ft. high, with round smooth branches. Stipules deciduous, narrow, linear. Leaves 

 about l|in. long, membranaceous; 

 downy and slightly tomentose beneath, 

 covered with stellate down above, some- 

 times entire ; narrowed towards the base. 

 Male flower : calyx 6 — 7-parted, sta. 

 mens 8. Spikes of female flowers axil- 

 lary, almost sessile, 3 — 5-flowered. A 

 native of New Spain, and common in the 

 vicinity of Moran. The name Q. trWens 

 has been applied to this species, from 

 the circumstance of the leaves being al- 

 most constantly furnished with 3 teeth at 

 the apex, although otherwise entire. It 

 is found at an elevation of 7800 ft. (1300 

 toises.) F. A. Michaux mentions that it 

 is sometimes found 20 ft. high. 



Q. acutifblin Willd., No. 57., Nee in 

 Anal. Cien. Nat., 3. p. 267., Fisch. Misc. 

 Hisp., 1. p. 102., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 173., 

 Smith in Rces's Cycl., No. 64., Humb. et 

 Bonp. PI. .Squin., t. 95^ andour^ig. 1874. ; 

 Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 1. p. 109. Leaves 

 cordate, lanceolate, very tiiiely pointed ; 

 beset on the margin with large mucronate 

 teeth ; brownish beneath ; tomentose near 

 the veins. Spikes of female flowers on 

 short peduncles. (Humb. et Bonp.) A tall 

 and valuable tree, with a trunk about the 

 thickness of a man's body, covered with 

 cracked bark. Leaves on longish foot- 

 stalks, blunt; somewhat lobed at the 

 base ; glabrous above j covered beneath 

 with brown woolly tomentum ; 5 in. to 6 in. 

 long, and 1 in. to 2 in. broad. Calyx of the 

 male flowers constantly 5-toothed, exter- 

 nally downy. Stamens 5 — 7, twice as long as the caljTC 



Female flowers in a spike, upon a short 



