CEPA.GES. 77 



taste. Seeds (Fig. 27) medium, stout; beak stout and short; 

 chalaze round; raphe forming a small belt ending abruptly. 

 Roots fairly strong and hard. 



(6) Varieties. The varieties of V. Cordifolia are not very 

 numerous, and, although the species does not offer very great 

 interest from a cultural point of view, it is well to indicate 

 them. V. Cordifolia lives specially in rich, loose, fresh, deep 

 soils on river banks, where it is mixed 

 with Riparias; a few types are found 

 exceptionally in calcareous soils; this is 

 opposite to what takes place with V. Ber- 

 landieri, the types of which are more Fig. 27. Sefed of 

 numerous in calcareous soils than on river 

 banks. It seems natural, therefore, for .the Berlandieri 

 imported into France to succeed in chalky soils, for the forms 

 of this species are found widely distributed in such soil, 

 and that the success of V. Cordifolia in such soil is an 

 accident, as its forms are more generally found in siliceous 

 soils. This is in effect what occurs. However, the question 

 is only of secondary interest, for the geographical area of 

 dissemination of V. Cordifolia in the American cretaceous 

 soils is an exception, and its forms, even if they succeeded in 

 France, would not be superior to those of Berlandieri, for 

 which resistance to chlorosis is the general case. 



This applies also to V. Cinerea; we, therefore, will not 

 mention it again when studying that species. 



The varieties of V. Cordifolia may be divided into several 

 groups. The varieties of Florida, very rare, have thin leaves 

 of strong varnished appearance, glabrous on both faces, 

 except on the under-face at the junction of the ribs. They 

 have not been imported into France, and are of no interest 

 for purposes of reconstitution. 



The most numerous varieties, the only kind introduced in 

 Europe, are those of rich soils; they have, in their wild state, 

 a remarkable development, superior to that of Riparia 

 especially in the size of trunk. It differs from the above 

 group by the leaf having two series of alternating teeth, 

 upper-face dull -green, under-face varnished like. Millardet 

 has distinguished two forms in this group bronze form, 

 upper-face of leaf deep-green, the shoots, petiole and ribs 

 bronze violet; and a yellow form with generally lighter 

 appearance, under-face greenish-yellowish varnished like, 

 with wood and ribs light in colour. 



