116 OSTRYA OXYCOCCUS 



\ 



long, glandular downy. Male catkins 2 ins. long. Fruit clusters i^ to 2^- ins. 

 long, | to i^ ins. wide. Nutlet $ in. long, the pale bladder-like membranous 

 bag enclosing it being ovate, -f to I in. long, hairy at the base. 



Native of Eastern N. America ; introduced by Compton, Bishop of 

 London, in 1692. Cultivated specimens differ from the closely allied 

 O. carpinifolia in the glandular hairs on the twigs and leaf-stalks, in the 

 usually fewer ribs of the leaf, and in the larger nut. The timber, as the 

 common name denotes, is very hard and durable, and is used for mallets, 

 handles of tools, etc. Although not very common in English gardens, this 

 interesting tree thrives well. At Kew there are several specimens 25 to 30 

 ft. high, of handsome pyramidal form and very healthy. 



OSTRYOPSIS DAVIDIANA, Decaisne. CORYLACE^:. 



A deciduous shrub of bushy, rounded habit, 3 to 5 ft. high, suckering 

 from the base like a hazel; young shoots downy. Leaves alternate, 

 broadly ovate, heart-shaped at the base, short-pointed, i to 3 ins. long, 

 | to 2 ins. wide; sharply, irregularly and often doubly toothed; upper 

 surface dull green with scattered hairs, lower surface much more downy ; 

 stalk \ in. or less long. Flowers unisexual, both sexes on the same bush. 

 Male catkins J to f in. long, slender, nodding, produced from the joints 

 of the old wood. Female inflorescence terminal on the new shoot of the 

 year, erect, very short. Fruit a conical nut enclosed in an outer covering 

 or husk (involucre), which is also narrowly conical, J to f in. long, 

 downy, terminating in three slender points. At first this husk completely 

 encloses the nut, but finally liberates it by splitting down one side. The 

 fruits are crowded eight to twelve together in a cluster at the end of 

 the twig. 



Native of N. China and Mongolia; discovered by the Abbe David, 

 after whom it is named. It was introduced from the mountains near 

 Pekin to Kew, in 1883, by the late Dr Bretschneider. It is an /interesting 

 little shrub, with the habit and foliage of a hazel, to which it is closely 

 allied, but differs much in the shape of the nut. It has no ornamental 

 qualities to recommend it, but is quite hardy. 



OXYCOCCUS. CRANBERRIES. VACCINIACE^. 



Only two species of Oxycoccus are known, which, although closely 

 allied to Vaccinium, are very distinct in their long, slender, wiry, creeping 

 stems, clothed with alternate leaves, and still more in the corolla, the four 

 parts of which are so deeply divided that they become practically separate 

 petals. 



The cranberries like a moist or semi-boggy, peaty soil, and can be 

 increased by seed or by layers. They have little garden value, although 

 a broad patch of either kind forming a dense mass of interlacing stems 

 is interesting and unusual. The berries are used for making tarts and 

 in confections of various kinds. 



