yon '">. 



QUKBOD& 



6W 



broad losved variety, which ha call* Q. ro*r Virgiliana, nwer in 

 all rvwweU to the language of the port, and iU acorn* are sweet, and 



iUn like chestnut* at tint day iu Italy, where they are called Quercia 



ictagnara. (' Oeserv. ulL Flor. VirgilUua,' p. 12.) 



Q. futacmi. a native of the southern parts of Europe, ha* most of 

 UM characters of Q. tatijlora, but ita leave* are smaller, often qtiito 

 woolly oo the undrr aide, and the lobe* are themselves much sinuated. 

 It ha* been injudicioualy coafounded with that specie*, to which it is 

 aid to be in all mpecU inferior in the quality of ita timber. It 

 forme a majestic tre. with much the habit of Q. Ctrrit. 



The Q. J&n/w of Loudon U, no doubt, the tame a* the last ; but 

 what the plant wai to which I.innicu* applied the name, and which 

 ha* been (opposed by some to be the Eiculut of Virgil, i altogether 

 doubtful Another oak related to the sessile-cupped is the Q. pyre- 

 Mitt, or Tausin, a small scrubby tree inhabiting poor sandy soil in 

 the south of France, and throwing up an abundance of suckers. Ita 

 wood is of little value except for the stave* of cask*. ThU species i* 

 readily known by its gray leaves, the hair of which ia remarkably 



6. The Evergreen Oaks (Ilica). 



All the European oaks with leave* truly evergreen belong to this 

 section, which however in some respects approaches the Mossy-Cupped 

 Oaks when the latter acquire a semi-European habit. In such cases 

 they are known by the scales of their cups being very short, aud tlio 

 toothings of their leaves not bristle-pointed. 



Q. ntnuii/utut, Round-Leaved Oak. Leaves nearly orbicular, with 

 spinous teeth, a little heart-shaped at the base, smoothish above, 

 downy beneath. Very little U known of this plant, except that it ia 

 allied to Q. Iltt. Smith and others say it ia a Spanish plant, and if 

 so, they probably meant Ballota ; but we have before us a Turkish 

 specimen, of which a cut is given, to which the name is very appli- 

 cable, and which is quite different from that species. 



I / 



I 



I, QiwrM Br*tn ; 2, Roond-Uavcd Oak (Q. rotundifotia). 



<j. llet, Common Evergreen Oak, or Holm-Oak. Leaves ovate- 

 oblong, acute, coriaceous, entire, or serrated, hoary beneath. Bark 

 even. Acorns ovate, on short stalk*. A most variable plant, common 

 all over the south of Europe, where it may be found with leaves 

 varying from being as prickly a* a holly to being a* even at the edge 

 as an olive, and from the sue of a sloe-leaf to that of a beech. It 

 lores the neighbourhood of the so*, and in its wild state generally 

 grows singly or in small clusters, not forming forest*. Its wood is 

 very hard and heavy, tough, and in all respect* of excellent quality, 

 where it* weight i* not against it. IU acorns are bitter, and unfit fur 

 food. 



Q. Balleta, Sweet Acorn-Oak. Leave* elliptical, coriaceous, entire 



or serrated, very obtuse, white, and downy beneath. Bark even. 

 Acorns cylindrical, elongated. "This evergreen oak," says Captain 

 Cooke, " is one of the leading vegetable features of nearly all Spain. 

 The native woods are formed of it in a great measure. A- a species, 

 it is quite distinct from the Q. Ilex : the leaves are thicker, more 

 rounded at the point, of a dull glaucous green, aud the tree is altogether 

 more compact and of a less graceful form. The great and 1 essential 

 difference however is in the acorns, which are eatable, and wheu in 

 perfection are as good as or superior to a chestnut To give this 

 sweetness they must be kept, as at first they have a considerable taste 

 of tannin, which however disappears in a few days. These are the 

 edible acorns of the ancients, winch they believed fattened the tunny- 

 fish on the passage from the ocean to the Mediterranean ; a fable only 

 proving that the species grew on the delicious shores and rocks of 

 Andalusia, which unhappily is no longer the case." 



Q. Subtr, Cork-Tree. Leaves ovate-oblong, bluntiah, coriaceous, 

 entire or sharply serrated, downy beneath. Bark cracked, fungous. 

 The Cork-Tree is spread through all the warm parts of Spain, but is 

 most abundant in Catalonia and Valencia, whence the principal 

 exports have been made. In the property of forming a spongy soft 

 substance on ita bark, it surpasses all other European trees, and hence 

 is of the greatest value for corks and for similar purposes. The form 

 of the tree is said to be mueh more beautiful than th.it of the common 

 evergreen oak, and in the districts suited to it attains a great height 

 The species bears the climate of London, but acquires little of its 

 natural beauty iu this country. 



Q. faginca, Beech-Oak. Leaves on short stalks, obovate, with 

 numerous uniform shallow lobea ; downy beneath ; when young some- 

 what heart-shaped and unequal at the base. Fruit sessile. Cup with 

 downy close-pressed somewhat ciliated scales. Acorn conical or 

 somewhat cylindrical. A native of Portugal, Spain, and Tangiere, 

 and apparently unknown in our gardens. Mr. Barker Webb however, . 

 who has studied some of the European species with great care, regards 

 it as identical with Q. Turncri, or Q. Auttralit, aud if so, we possess 

 it The same learned botanist reduces to this the Aleppo Gail-Nut 

 Oak, Q. infectoria, and he is probably right 



1, Qua-cut rtfia ; I, Beech-Oak (Q. faginra). 



Q. cocci/era, Kermes Oak. Leaves elliptic-oblong, rigid, smooth on 

 both sides, with spreading, bristly, spinous teeth. Acorns ovate. Cup 

 with spreading pointed scales. A native of the south-eastern parts of 

 Europe, where it forms a small bush, resembling a dwarf holly. It is 

 celebrated a* being the haunt of the Kerincs insect 



c. Mossy-Cupped Oaks (Caret). 

 The species of this section are remarkable for their thin deeply 



