CHAP. CV. 



CORYLA^CE^. (7ASTA^NEA. 



1983 



Spec. Char., SfC. Leaves ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, somewhat rhomboid, 

 pointed; serrated, coriaceous, 

 shining, glabrous ; wedge, 

 shaped, and oblique at the base, . qoo 

 on very short footstalks. Peri- *y^* 

 aiith of the male ternate, cam- 

 panulate, A — 5-lobed. Anthers 

 8 — 10. Cupules involucriform, 

 smooth, 4-partite ; segments al- 

 most linear, laciniate. Ovaries 

 laterally exserted, 3-sided ; an- 

 gles marginate. {ilirh.) A tall 

 tree, a native of Chili, where it 

 was found, along with F. ob- 

 llqua, by the botanist after 

 whom it has been named. It 

 is known in Chili by the name 

 of Coigue, and furnishes excel- 

 lent wood for the purposes of 

 construction. Young branches V ^ 

 downy, glutinous. Leaves al- ^ 

 ternate, from 5 to 10 lines long, 

 and from 3 to 3 lines broad, on 

 the flowering branches, and 

 about double the size on the ste- , 



rile branches. Stipules oval, de- 

 length of the petiole. Fruit unknown. ;ilA'>«. Jf«s., xiv. p. 



1 10. jP. Du^uiA Mirb. The dubious Beech. 



t*jy.) 



Identification. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26. 



Engravings. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26. ; and owr fig. 1932. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Leaves ovate, bluntish, doubly serrate, coriaceous, shining, glabrous ; round at the 

 base, on short footslalks. Perianth of the male solitary, turbinate, 5— 7-lobed. Anthers 10— 16. 

 {Mirb.) It is extremely probable that thei''. dilbia is nothing more than a variety oi F. Aetuloides. 

 The branches are smoother and more elongated; the leaves larger, oval, and not elliptic; and den- 

 tate, not crenulate ; all which difterences maybe the result of a more vigorous growth. The dried 

 si>ecimen in other respects perfectly resembles that of F. ftetuliiuies ; and Commerson, who gathered 

 it at the Straits of Magellan, had placed it along with that species, under the name offititula 

 antarclica. As Mirbel liad not seen the female flower, he thought it better not to confound it 

 with F. ietuliiides. 



Genus III. 



CASTA^NEA Tourn. The Chestnut. Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia Polyandria. 



Identification. Tourn., 352. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 65. 



Synom/mes. Fagus Lin. and others; Chataignier, Fr. ; Kastanie, Ger. ; Castagno, Ital. ; Castano, 



Span. ; Castanheiro, Port. ; Castanietrse, Sii'cd. and Dan. ; Keschton, Russ. 

 Derivation. From Castanca, a town in Thessaly, or from another town of that name in Pontus. 



Description, ^c. Deciduous trees, with nearly the same geographical dis- 

 tribution as the oak, but more tender. There is only one European species, 

 which is chiefly valuable as a fruit tree, and as coppice-wood ; the timber ot" 

 full-grown trees being brittle, and of short duration. The foliage is large and 

 ornamental; and, in this and its fruit, it bears a close analogy to the beech. 

 Tiie botanical ditterence between the two genera has been noticed in p. 1949. 



2 1. C, ve'sca Gicrln. The eatable, sweet, or Spanish, Chestnut. 

 Identification. Ga?rtn. Sem., 1. p. 181. ; Michx. Amer., 2. p. 193. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460. ; Lindl. 



Synop., p. 171. 

 Si/nonymes. Fhgus Castanea Lin. Hort. Cliff, 447., Hort. Ups., 287., Boy. Liigdb., 79., Mat. 

 'Med., 203., Dalib. Paris., 294., Gron. J'irg., 15iJ., Du Hoi Harblc, 1. p. 270., Kniph. Cent., 5. 

 No. 31., Bcgn. Pot.; Castinea sativa Milt. Diet., No. 1., Scop. Carn., No. 1187., Hall. Hclv., 

 No. 1623., Plackia., t. 330., Houtl. Lin. Pfi., 2. p. 328. ; C. vulgfiris Lam. Eiicyc, 1. p. 708., 

 N. Du Ham., S. p. 66., Eng. Put., t. 886., Eng. Fl., 4. p. 151., Hook. Pr. Ft., ed. 3., p. 411., 

 Mackay Fl. Hihern., p. 251. 

 Derivation. The term Sweet Chestnut is applied with reference to the fruit, in contradistinction to 

 the fruit of the horsechestnut, which is bitter. It is called the Spanish chestnut, because the best 

 chestnuts for the table, sold in the London markets, are imported from Spain. 

 Engravings. Eng. Hot., t. 886. ; Blackw., t. 330. ; Hunt. Evel., 1. p. 152. ; N. Du Ham., 3. 1. 19. ; and 

 tne plates of this tree in our last Volume. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated ; 

 glabrous on each side. (lVi//d.) A stately tree, rivalling the oak in size 

 and longevity ; but, in regard to its timl)er, comparatively worthless. A 

 native of Asia Minor j but cultivated in the temperate parts of Europe 

 from time immemorial. 



6 N 



