44 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



the rachis shows here and there a very slight wing, like that of P. stenoptera, only 

 never serrate in margin. The fruits have oval wings, shorter and broader than 

 those of P. stenoptera, the nut being more beaked than in that species. The 

 veining of the fruit-wings resembles P. caucasica. 



Distribution 



Pterocarya caucasica has been found in the northern provinces (Astrabad 

 and Ghilan) of Persia, and in Russian Armenia, as well as in the Caucasus. 

 According to Radde,* it occurs in the marshy delta of the Rion in company with 

 Alnus glutinosa, and along the coast of the Black Sea, mixed with oak. beech, and 

 hornbeam. It grows sometimes as a tree, but oftener as a tall shrub, on the banks 

 of streams. It extends up to about 1200 feet only in Kachetia, and is met with as 

 far eastward as Talysch, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, where in damp places it 

 forms the principal underwood. It is not found wild in the interval between the 

 lower Rion on the west and the lower valley of the Alazan on the south side of 

 the central Caucasus, and is again absent from here to the province of Talysch. 



Mr. Younitsky of the Russian Forest Service has kindly sent me the following 

 account of the tree in the Caucasus. He says it is only found in certain stations, 

 rarely over 1 200 feet elevation, and always in moist or very wet places, to which it 

 is better adapted than even the alder. In the young stage the tree is very delicate 

 and susceptible to spring frosts, requiring shelter when young ; and when older does 

 not bear shade well. Very large trees occur, of 100 feet in height and 10 feet 

 in girth, and logs of it are obtained bare of branches for 50 feet, with a girth of 

 5 feet at the smaller end. It grows very rapidly in youth, making a height of 

 30 feet in ten years. The wood is light and soft, resembling much that of the 

 lime-tree, and is chiefly used for making boxes and packing-cases. The bark is 

 used for sandals and roofing. The leaves contain a poisonous matter, and when 

 thrown into water intoxicate the fish, which rise to the surface and are easily caught. 

 The tree is rarely cultivated, but is recommended for planting in the wettest 

 situations, where it will thrive better than almost any other tree. 



Cultivation 



Pterocarya caucasica was introduced into France by the elder Michaux on his 

 return from Persia in 1782. According to Bosc the first tree was planted at 

 Versailles, others a little time after being planted about the Museum in Paris. 

 According to Mouillefert,^ there are still growing at the Trianon, Versailles, and at 

 the Museum, Paris, two fine specimens which are probably original trees.' The 

 tree flowered and produced fruit in 1826 in the park at Malesherbes, according to 

 a note by Gay in the Kew Herbarium. There is a tree 80 feet high and 9 feet in 

 girth in the Old Botanic Garden at Geneva, which was seen by Elwes in 1905. 



' Radde, Pflanzenverbreitung in Katikasusldndem, 109, 139, 1 59, 182, 205, etc. 

 ' Traiti des Arbres, ii. 1195 (1898). ^ i could not find either of these trees in 1905. H. J. E. 



