266 MONOCHLAMYDE^ 



B. nana (Dwarl Birch). A mountain shrub or small tree, with 

 wiry branches, and numerous rounded, notched leaves, which are 

 beautifully veined. Scotland and the north of England. 



5. Alnus (Alder). Stamens and pistils in separate flowers; 

 scales of the barren catkin 3-lobed, 3-flowered ; stamens 4 ; scales 

 of the fertile catkin 2-flowered, permanent, becoming hard and 

 dry ; stigmas 2 ; fruit flattened, not winged. (Name, the Latin 

 name of the tree.) A. glutinosa (Common Alder) is the only 

 British species belonging to this family. It is a smallish tree, with 

 dingy bark, and short-stalked leaves, broadly ovate, wavy at the 

 edge, and toothed ; catkins two or thee together, barren ones long ; 

 fertile ones roundish, hard, woody, hanging for a long time on the 

 tree. A widely diffused tree, growing in swampy ground in most 

 of the temperate regions of the globe. 



Sub-order IV. Cupulifeile. Mast-bearing Group 

 Stamens and pistils in separate flowers {Monoecious) 



6. Fagus (Beech). Barren flowers in a globose catkin ; stamens 

 5-15 ; fertile flowers 2 together, within a 4-lobed, prickly involucre ; 

 stigmas 3 ; nuts 3-cornered, enclosed in the enlarged involucre. 

 (Name in Greek, phegos, a species of Oak ; in Latin, fagus, a Beech.) 



F. sylvatica (Common Beech). The only British species. 

 A large, handsome tree, with smooth, greyish bark, and short- 

 stalked, ovate leaves, silky when young, and rather thin, smooth 

 texture when fully expanded. The three-cornered masts or nuts 

 are much appreciated by squirrels and children. Indigenous, and 

 a largely planted forest tree. 



7. Castanea (Chestnut). Barren flowers in a very long, spike- 

 like catkin ; stamens 10-20 ; fertile flowers 3 together, within a 

 4-lobed, very prickly involucre ; stigmas 6 ; nuts not distinctly 

 3-cornered, enclosed in the enlarged involucre. (Latin, the name 

 of the tree.) C. sativce (Sweet, or Spanish Chestnut). A handsome 

 tree, with perpendicularly furrowed bark, and smooth, narrow, 

 sharply serrated leaves. The male catkins are 4 or 5 inches long, 

 and have a heavy sickly smell. The nuts, though frequently pro- 

 duced in England, are usually small ; but in some parts of Southern 

 Europe they form the chief article of food of the inhabitants. Not 

 indigenous, but frequently planted. 



8. Quercus (Oak). Barren flowers in a long, drooping catkin; 

 stamens 5-10 ; fertile flowers with a cup-shaped, scaly involucre ; 

 stigmas 3 ; fruit, an acorn. (Name, the Latin name of the tree.) 

 Q. Robur (British Oak). One of our most splendid forest trees, 

 too well known to need much description. The leaves, which often 

 hang on the trees till very late into the winter, are very variable 



