PRUNUS 241 







Var. PARVIFOLIA. A dwarf, narrow-leaved form, the smallest leaves I in. 

 long by in. wide only, and the plant it to 2 ft. high. It may occasionally 

 be seen reverting back to the typical form. Known in gardens as " Hartogia 

 cupensis." 



Var. ROTUNDIFOLIA. Leaves about half as broad as long. 



Var. SCHIPK^ENSIS. Originally found wild near the Shipka Pass, and 

 brought into cultivation about 1886. It has narrow, entire leaves, 2 to 4^ ins. 

 long, | to ii ins. wide, and a certain elegance of habit, but is not so orna- 

 mental as some of the larger-leaved varieties. Racemes 2^ to 3 ins. high. 

 Its great value is its extreme hardiness. It will withstand winters where 

 no cherry laurel has been known to do so before, such as N. Germany and 

 parts of N. America. 



Var. ZABELIANA is another of the same type as schipkaensis, and is equally 

 hardy. Leaves also entire, narrow, and almost willow-like, the branches 

 growing rather stiffly and obliquely upwards. Put into cultivation in 1898. 



P LUSITANICA, Linnaus. PORTUGAL LAUREL. 



(Laurocerasus lusitanica, Roemer^) 



An evergreen shrub of wide,'bushy form, usually loto 20 ft., but occasionally 

 40 to 50 ft. high, more in diameter ; young branches quite smooth and very 

 dark. Leaves ovate or oval, 2^ to 5 ins. long, \\ to 2 ins. wide ; quite smooth 

 on both surfaces; very dark, glossy green above, paler below, shallowly 

 roundish toothed. Racemes produced in June from the ends of the previous 

 summer's shoots, and from the axils of their leaves ; 6 to 10 ins. long, I to 

 j ins. through, more or less erect. Flowers white, \ to \ in. across, calyx 

 cup-shaped, with shallow, rounded lobes ; stalk \ in. long. Fruit dark purple, 

 7. in. long, cone-shaped, pointed. 



Native of Spain and Portugal ; introduced in 1648 (Aiton). In all but 

 the coldest parts of Great Britain the Portugal laurel is one of the handsomest 

 and most effective of evergreens. It should be grown as isolated specimens, 

 especially in thinly wooded parts of the grounds. Although it is chiefly 

 valued for the luxuriance of its rich green lustrous foliage, it has some merit 

 as a flowering shrub, for in June it produces an extraordinary profusion of 

 long, slender racemes, whose only defect is that the flowers are rather dull. 

 It is hardier than the cherry laurel, and on warm, well-drained soil withstands 

 thirty-two degrees of frost without being in the least affected. 



Var. AZORICA. The largest leaved of all the forms of Portugal laurel, the 

 leaves being sometimes over 5 ins. long and i\ ins. wide. In the Canary 

 Islands and the Azores it becomes 60 to 70 ft. high. Introduced about 1860 

 by Osborn's, once famous nurserymen of Fulham. 



Var. MYRTI FOLIA. A shrub of neat, rounded habit, and of stiffer, closer 

 growth than the type. Leaves much smaller, usually \\ to 2 ins. long. 



Var. ORMSTONIENSIS. Leaves dark green and leathery, of the ordinary 

 size ; habit compact. 



Var. VARIEGATA. Leaves margined with white ; more tender than the 

 green forms. 



All the forms of Portugal laurel are easily increased by late summer 

 cuttings ; the type also by seeds. 



P. MAACKII, Ruprecht. 



(Laurocerasus Maackii, C. K. Schneider?) 



A Manchurian bird cherry up to 40 or more ft. high in a wild state, very 

 distinct through the bark of the trunk being smooth and of a striking 



