PICEA EXCELSA. 433 



the base to the summit when the trees are standing alone and in the 

 prime of life, the lowermost gently decurved and upturned at the tip, 

 those higher up spreading horizontally, the uppermost slightly ascending; 

 when the trees are crowded and in old age, the trunk is denuded of 

 branches for a greater or less portion of the height and they have a 

 thin spire-like crown. Branchlets distichous and mostly opposite, 

 covered with corrugated orange-brown bark. Buds sub-conic, acute, 

 about 0*25 inch long, with oval-oblong, reddish brown perular scales. 

 Leaves persistent five -seven years, spirally crowded around the 

 branchlets, those on the upper side pointing forwards at a small angle 

 to the axis, those on the under side pseudo-distichous in two three 

 ranks, four-angled, compressed, mucronate, 0*25 0*75 inch long, lustrous 

 grass-green. Staminate flowers solitary or two and three together near 

 the distal end' of branchlets of the preceding year, sub-cylindric, slightly 

 tapering at each end, about 0*75 inch long, pinkish yellow, and 

 surrounded at the base by numerous involucral scales. Cones 

 pendulous, sub-cylindric or cylindric-conic, 4 6 inches long and 

 1 2 inches in diameter, scales sub-rhomboidal, truncate and toothed at the 

 apex, light brown, striated ; seed-wings oval, semi-transparent, pale brown. 



Picea excelsa, Link in Linnsea, XV. 517 (1841). Carriere, Traite Conif. ed. II. 

 327. Willkomm, Forstl. Fl. ed. II. 67. Beissner, Nadelholzk. 351, with figs. 

 Brown, James, The Forester, ed. VI. Vol. I. 328, with fig. Masters in Journ. R. 

 Hort. Soc. XIV. 221. 



Abies excelsa, De Candolle, Flore Franc. III. 275 (1805). Richard, L. C. Mem. 

 sur les Conif. 69 (1826). London, Arb. et Frut. Brit. IV. 2293, with figs. 

 Forbes, Pinet. Woburn, 87. Gordon, Pinet. ed. II. 6. Lawson, Pinet. Brit. 

 II. 135, tt. 1920. 



Pinus Picea, Duroi. Observ. Bot. 37 (1774). Endlicher, Synops. Conif. 116. 

 Parlatore, D. C. Prodr. XVI. 415. 



P. Abies, Linnaeus, Sp. Plant. 1002 (1753). Lambert, Genus Pinus I. t. 25 (1803). 



Eng. Spruce Fir, Norway Spruce, Common Spruce. Fr. Pesse, Epicea. Germ. 

 Fichte, Rothtanne, Pechtanne. Ital. Abete rosso, Pezzo. 



var . Olanbrasiliana. 



A low, dense, globose or rounded bush seldom seen higher than 

 56 feet ; the branches, branchlets and leaves all much shortened and 



close-set. A supposed sterile variety. Olanbrasiliana elegans 



of larger dimensions and less dense in habit than Clanbrasiliana. 



P. excelsa Clanbrasiliana, Carriere, Traite Conif. ed. II. 334. Abies excelsa 

 Clanbrasiliana, London, Arb. et. Frut. Brit. IV. 2294. 



var. dumosa. 



A dwarf variety which fails to form an ascending trunk, and in which the 



branches are quite prostrate and furnished with numerous slender branchlets 



clothed with rather distant short mucronate leaves. Two other forms of 



similar habit and aspect have been named procumbens and tabuliformis. 



P. excelsa dumosa, Carriere, Traite Conif. ed. II. 332. Beissner, ISTadelholzk. 365. 



var.-eremita. 



A robust variety in which the branches are turned obliquely upwards 

 at a small angle to the trunk, the branchlets stouter, shorter, and with 

 larger ' winter buds than in the common form. Leaves distant, short, 

 thick, spine-tipped and sometimes sub-distichous. Remontii is a 

 dwarf modification of this. 



P. excelsa eremita, Carriere, Traite Conif. ed. II. 330. Beissner, Nadelholzk. 362. 

 Spit/fichte of German foresters. 



FF 



