CHAPTEK IV. 



CASTANOPSIS. 

 California chestnut. Western chinquapin. Evergreen chestnut. 



Castanopsis, Spach. Name derived from Castanea, 

 the chestnut. Order, Cupuliferce. A genus of ever- 

 green shrubs and trees, intermediate between the oaks 

 (Quercus) and the chestnuts (Castanea). There are 

 about a dozen species indigenous to Eastern Asia and 

 the adjacent islands. Blume, in "Elora Javae," Vol. II, 

 1828-36, describes three species under Castanea, which 

 he found in the mountains and more elevated regions of 

 the Javanese islands. Very little, however, is known of 

 these oriental evergreen chestnuts outside of the herba- 

 riums of professional botanists, and they are rarely re- 

 ferred to, even in standard botanical dictionaries, or 

 dictionaries of gardening, and when mentioned they are 

 usually placed in the genus Castanea. Edouard Spach, 

 a half-century or more ago, gave a synopsis of the genus, 

 for whioh he proposed the name of Castanopsis, and 

 although not recognized by botanists in general for a 

 number of years, it is now accepted by botanical author- 

 ities everywhere. We have but one indigenous species, 

 and this on the Pacific coast, viz : 



Castanopsis chrysophylla, A. de Candolle. Casta- 

 nea chrysophylla, Douglas. Castanea semper vir ens, 

 Kellogg. 



"Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, lanceolate or oblong, 

 one to four inches long, acuminate or only acutish (Fig. 

 10), cuneate at base and shortly petioled, entire green 

 and glabrous above or somewhat scurfy, densely scurfy 



55 



