174 JUNIPERUS EXCELSA. 



non-development only one ; the fleshy external covering deep purple 

 with a glaucous bloom. 



Juniperus drupacea, Labillardiere, * Plant, syr. decad. II. 14, t. 8(1791). Loudon, 



Arb. et Frut. Brit. IV. 2494, with figs. Endlicher, Synops. Conif. 8. Lindley 



in Gard. Chron. 1855, p. 455, with fig. Carriere, Traite Conif. ed. II. 8. 



Parlatore, D. C. Prodr. XVI. 476. Gordon, Pinet. ed. II. 133. Boissier, Fl. 



orient. V. 706. Tristram, Fl. Pal. 451. Beissner, Nadelholzk. 140. Masters in 



Journ R. Hort. Soc. XIV. 212. 



Eng. Syrian Juniper, The Arceuthos. Fr. Gen^vrier de la Syrie. Genn. Stein- 



friichtiger or Pflaumenfruchtiger Wachholder Ital. Ginepro della Siria. 



The earliest notice of Juniperus drupacea occurs in a work by Pierre 

 Belon published in Paris in 1588 and entitled "Les observations de 

 plusieurs singularites et choses memorable.? trouvees en Grece, Asie, 

 etc.," his description of the fruit being sufficiently clear for the 

 identification of the species. The author first met with it while 

 making the ascent of Mount Lebanonj- where it is still common ; 

 it is also common on Anti-Lebanon whence it spreads northwards 

 along the Syrian coast range to the Cilician Taurus where it attains 

 its greatest development. On Bulghar-Dagh and Khara-Dagh it is 

 very abundant between 1,750 and 5,550 feet elevation, in some places 

 forming an undergrowth in the light Oak and ' Pine forests, in others 

 covering large stretches unmixed. It was introduced into European 

 .gardens by Theodor Kotschy in 1854. 



Juniperus drupacea has secured a place in many British gardens on 

 account of its hardiness, the unique shade of green of its foliage, and 

 the small space it requires. But although so long a denizen of this 

 country it is a curious fact that no fruit-bearing trees have been 

 observed, or if observed not recorded. It is highly probable that 

 dioecity in this species is absolute, and that the male form only is in 

 cultivation ; and as propagation is easily effected by means of cuttings 

 that form alone has been perpetuated.^ Siehe states that the fruits 

 are eaten by the inhabitants of the villages situated high up on the 

 Cilician Taurus. 



Juniperus excelsa. 



A monoecious tree|| of very variable dimensions in different localities 

 of the extensive region over which it is spread. At its greatest 

 development it attains a height of 50 70 or more feet with a slender 

 trunk often not more than 12 15 inches in diameter; more frequently 

 a smaller tree 30- 45 feet high with a thicker trunk ; at its highest 



* Labillardiere travelled in the Levant in 1787 1789 ; the descriptions and figures of 

 the plants he discovered were published in Paris two years afterwards in five decades. 



f This was about the year 1550 according to Loudon who quotes Belon's account of the 

 Cedars. This intrepid traveller was one of the first Europeans who saw them after the 

 Turkish conquest of Syria. 



% From a communication received from Signor Gaeta of Florence, it would seem that the 

 fruiting of Juniperus drupacea is an extremely rare occurrence in Italy. 



Gartenflora, 1897, p. 207. 



II Walter Siehe in Gartenflora, 1897, p. 210, states the trees observed by him on the 

 Cilician Taurus were for the most part dioecious, and that the two sexes are easily 

 distinguishable The scale-like leaves of the male trees are thicker and of a brighter green 

 than those of the fruit-bearing trees. 



