674. 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



394 



I) 



it A. n. ScampestrisSeT. ^. camp^stris Scsser Envm. ,p.if>. No. U25. ; A. Besseriun/i Schott 

 in Cat. Hort. f'indob., 1818. The Field dwarf Almond. — Leavei broadct. Lobes of 

 the calvx as long as the lube. Petals narrower^ longer, and white. Styles toraentose at 

 the base. The form of the nut, according to Besser, is various. Supposed to be a native 

 of the south of Podolia. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 5.50.) 



St A. (n. 4) incrina Pall, t/ie Aoar//.leaved dwarf Ahnond (Pall. Ross., 1. p. 13. t. 7. ; Smith Fl. 

 Grac, t. 477. ; Don's Mill. ,2. p. 48'i.) hai obovate leaves, clothed with tomentum beneath ; 

 and the branches are somewhat spiral It is a nativeof Caucasus and the Levant, between 

 Smyrna and Bursa ; and produces its red flowers in March and April ; but we have never 

 seen it in British gardens. Giddenstadt considered it to be a variety of A. nana, which, 

 we think, is extremelv probable. 



HI A. (? n. 5) sibirica Lodd.' Cat, the Siberian Ahnond, is extant in some British botanical col. 

 lections, where it is an upright shrub, about 4 ft. high, with wand-like shoots, clothed 

 with fine, long, willow.like, glossv, serrate ieaves ; on account of which, and its npright 

 habit of growth, the latter being different from that of all the other species and varieties 

 of almond, it is valuable in every collection where variety of character is desired. 



The plant which is usually called the dwarf double-blossomed almond, 

 in British gardens, is 6'^rasus japonica flore pleno, or, as it is frequently 

 named in the nurseries, Jmypdalus pimiila. 



Description, Sfc. All the different forms of the dwarf almond are low 

 shrubs, seldom exceeding 2 ft. or 3 ft. in height. The leaves bear a general 

 resemblance to those of some of the 

 species of willow, but are of a darker 

 and more shining green, at least in the 

 original species. The stems are not 

 of long duration ; but the plant throws 

 up abundance of travelling suckers, by 

 which it is continued naturally, and 

 also propagated. It is common through 

 all tlie plains of Russia, from 55° N. 

 lat. to the south of the empire. The 

 / species is common in British gardens, 

 and is propagated by suckers. It was 

 introduced in 1G83; and produces it "^•'•^ 

 pink flowers in March and April. It is 

 valuable on account of its early flowering, the gracefulness of the slender 

 twigs, on which its flowers are produced before the leaves appear, and of its 

 easy culture in any dry soil. Its fruit resembles that of ^i. communis, but is 

 much smaller. 



i 2. A. COMMUNIS L. The common Almond Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 677. ; Dec. Prod., .3. p. .'iTO. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 482. 

 Engravings. N, Du Ham., 4. t. 'JO. ; and the pUte of thii tree in our Second Volume. 



Spec. Char., !>fc. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, serrulate. Flowers solitary. 

 Calyx of a bell-shape. Fruit compressed, and rather egg-shaped. {Dec. 

 Prod.,'n p. 530.) A tree, a native of Mauritania, and, as Royle observes, 

 also found in the mountainous parts of Asia. It grows to the height of 

 20ft. or 30 ft.; and was cultivated in Britain, in 15.38. There are several 

 varieties of it in cultivation on the Continent, for their fruit ; and two or 

 three in this country, partly for the same purpose, but chiefly for their 

 flowers. The common almond, in a wild state, is found sometimes with 

 the kernels bitter, and at other times with them sweet ; in the same man- 

 ner as the Quercus hispanica, which, in Spain, generally bears sweet and 

 edible acorns, sometimes produces only such as are bitter. For this rea- 

 son, in the case of the almond, instead of giving one form as the species, 

 we have followed De CandoUe, and described both the bitter and the 

 sweet almond separately, either of which may be considered as the species, 

 and classed them with the varieties. 



Varieties. 



V A. c. 1 atn&ra Dec. The iiWf r-kemeled common Almond Tree. 



Identification. Dec. Fl. Fr., 4. p. 486. ; Du Ham., ed. 2. p. 114. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 530. 

 Synonymes. Amandier amer, Fr. ; gemeine Mandelbaum, Ger. 



Description, S(C. Flowers large. Petals pale pink, with a tinge of rose colour at the 

 base. Styles nearly as long as the stamens, and tomentose in the lower part. Seeds bitter. 

 There are two forms of the bitter almond ; one with a hard shell, and the other with a 

 brittle one. The tree is cultivated in the south of France, in .\ustria, in Italy, in 



