268 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



Varieties. 



. A. v . 1 ovalifdlia Ser. Abricot Angoumois, A. precoce, A. blanc, Fr. 

 (N.DuHam.,5.t.50.f. 6.; 

 and our fig. 429.) Leaves 

 oval ; fruit small. 

 A. v. 2 cordifvlia Ser. (N. Du 

 Ham., 5. p. 167. t. 49,; 

 and our fig. 430.) Leaves 

 heart-shaped, broad. Fruit 

 larger. 



A. v. 3 foliis variegdtis Hort. 

 Leaves variegated. Flow- 

 ers double. The Breda va- 

 riety is generally that which 43 A - 

 has variegated leaves in British gardens. 

 A. v. 4 fiore pleno Hort. Grossier says that the 

 Chinese have a great many varieties of double-blossomed apricots, 

 which they plant on little mounts. 



Very few trees attain the appearance of maturity so soon as the apricot ; a 

 standard 10 or 12 years planted, in good loamy rich soil, will grow to the 

 height of 20ft., with a head 25ft. in diameter, presenting all the appearance 



429. A. v. ovalifoli 



of a tree of 20 or 30 years' growth, or of a tree arrived at maturity. The best 

 variety for producing fruit, as a standard, is the Breda apricot. It is also a 

 very handsome-growing plant, and its blossom buds, before they are expanded, 

 are of a most beautiful and brilliant scarlet. 



2. A. DASYCA'RPA Pers. The rough-fruited Apricot Tree. 



Identification. Pers. Syn,, 2. p. 36. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 532. ; Don's Mill, 2. p. 497. 



Synonymes. A. atropurptirea Lois, in N. Du Ham.b.p. 172.; Prinus dasycarpa Ehrh. Seitr.fi. 



p. 90. ; P. ^rmenlaca nlgraDe^/". Cat. ed. 2. p. 206. ; the black Apricot. 

 Engravings. N. Du Ham., 5. t. 61. f. 1. ; Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 1250. ; and our Jigs. 432, 433. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves ovate, acuminate, doubly serrate. Petioles glanded. 

 Flowers upon thread-shaped pedicels. In the flowers of a plant in the 

 Geneva Botanic Garden, the calyx was purple, and 6-lobedj the petals 

 were 6 ; and the stamens 24. (Dec. Prod.) A tree with a twisted trunk, 

 resembling the common apricot, but smaller. Levant?. Height JO ft. to 

 15ft. Introduced in 1800. Flowers white; April. Drupe purple or 

 black ; ripe in August and September. 



