CHAP. CV. 



Coryla'ce^. CASTA^NEA. 



2003 



springs up spontaneous!}' wherever the ground is not covered with water. 

 It was one of the earliest-imported American plants, having been intro- 

 duced by the Duchess of Beaufort in 1G99. In British nurseries, this 

 species is propagated by inarching on the common chestnut, or by layers. 

 There are handsome small bushes of it in the Horticultural Society's 

 Garden, and at Messi-s. Loddiges's ; and it is occasionally met with in col- 

 lections. Seeds are also sometimes im[X)rted. 



1 02!) 



App. i. Species of Qastdnea not yet introdticed into Eioopeaft 



Gardens. 



Several species of chestnuts have been discovered in Nepal and Java ; some of which were, at first, 

 su|)posed to belong to the genus yiierciis, but wliioh have been separated from that genus, and referred 

 to CastAnea, by Dr. Lindley; and others, which have been descritKHi and figured by Blume, in his 

 splendid work on the plants of Java. Dr. Lindley has given a synoptical list of the Indian Tastaneie 

 in Dr. Wallich's PI. As. Rar., in which he enu- 

 merates eight different species, all of which we 

 shall shortly notice below. 



C. indicn Rox. Hoit. Beng., p. 68 , Lindl. in 

 Wall. PI. As. liar., Royle lllu.st., p. .541., is a 

 native of the mountains of NeiiaJ and Silhet. 



C. Knxburghn I.ind., 1. c. ; ^uf reus castanicirja 

 Box. Ilort. Beng., p. fiS., Sprcng. Syst. leg., 5. 

 J). 8;')fi. ; is a native of C'hittagong. 



C spliwrocdrpa Lindl., 1. c. ; Qut reus armita 

 Roi. MSS. i is a native of the mountains near 

 Silhet. 



C. trihulS'des Lindl., I. c, Royle Illust., p. 341 ; 

 Ouercus <ribuloides Smith in Jiecs's Cyc/., No. 13., 

 D. Don. in Prod. Nip., p. 56., Iff// in IMt. ; Q. 

 CaiUngea Ham. MSS. ; Q. fJ-rox Itox. Hort. Ben<^., 

 p. fi8. This sjMxries, according to Sir J. E. Smitn, 

 was discovered by Dr. BuchanaJi (Hamilton) i<i 

 the forests of Upi>er Nopal, flowering and fruiting 

 at various seasons. Dr. Buchanan supposed it to 

 be an oak ; and he describes it as being a tree with 

 smooth branches, ami leaves on short footstalks, 

 lanceolate, more or less ovate, entire, tapcr.pointed, 

 somewhat unequal at the base, about 4 in. long, 

 IJ in. broad ; rigid, and rather coriaceous, with ir- 

 regular, distant, slightly curved veins ; the upper 

 surface polisheif, and the under one paler, and opaque. The flowers are generally monoecious (though 

 Dr. Buchanan observed one tree witn only female Howersi, in slender, downy, clustered, axillary, or 

 terminal sjVikes; the male spikes being most numerous. Stamens about S, with a dotted central disk. 

 The calyx of the fruit t« armed with very numerous, rigid, prominent, sharp thorns, a fourth of an inch 

 or more in length, spreading in every direction. This 

 species is called CattiMi, or Cattumje, in the Parhatty 

 language ; Shingali, or Catu-Shingali, by tJie Nemours. 

 (See Rrcs's Cycl., art. Quercus ) Sir J. E. Smith adds 

 that Dr. Buchanan found the flowers " agree with 

 <5uercus ; to which genus he referred this remarkable 

 plant ;" though the " strongly murieated calyx," which, 

 ill some of his specimens, seemed to " split into i or 3 

 valves," approached " the nature of the chestnut" 

 U is now generally allowed to belong to the genus 

 t'a.'itAnea. 



C. martabdnica Wall. PI. As. Rar., t. 107., and our 

 Jig. 19-9., has the leaves lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, 

 quite entire, smooth, on short footstalks, acute at the 

 base, silvery lieneath. Catkins downy, densely clothed 

 with palmate branchy spines, divaricate. {M'all.) A 

 native of Martaban, near Amherst Dr.Wallich "only 

 observed this fine large species of chestnut in the im. 

 mediate neighbourhood of Amherst. It was cov«?red 

 with a profusion of fruit in the^month of February. 

 The seeds had an astringent taste. Professor Lindley 

 thinksthat there is no diflerence between C. argt'ntea of 

 Dr.Blume's superb FAovi Jnvce and my (Dr. Wallich's) 

 tree, except that the former is depicteil with weak 

 spines ; a circumstance, no doubt, due tothefruit, which 

 was described as having been unripe. I venture to 

 dissent from my highly re.spccied frien<L Dr. Blume's 

 tree appears to me to difler in the following poinis :_ 

 Us leaves are more acuminate at the apex, and sharper ,^>\M 

 at the base; and their petioles longer. 'J'he fruit is \ , 

 smaller, and its spines much shorter and less com- ^\ 

 pound.' Besides, the locality seems to indicate a ditcr. ' 

 sity : the Java tree grows fin mountains, whereas mine ''^-^ 

 occupies low ground, on the sea shore of -Maitaban." ^ ({ 

 {Wall. PI. As. liar., t. I(l7.): 



Cast«neaarge»te<i Blume Fl. Jav. t 21., and our^» ,9,1 |,^ i|,g ,^3^.^^ oblong-lanceolate, much 

 aciimniated, narrowed towards the base, glabrous and ^-.x^^,,,. L,e„eath. Catkins silkv. A tall tree. 



6 o .3 



