912 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



disposed 2 3 or more together, within a bell-shaped, and externally bristly 

 involucre. Fruit 2 3 nuts, included in a 4-valved involucre. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous; serrated or entire, feather- 

 nerved, plaited in the bud. Flowers yellowish, conspicuous from the 

 abundance and length of the male catkins. Fruit with a hairy calyx like that 

 of the beech. Trees deciduous, large, spreading; natives of Europe and 

 North America, requiring a good soil to attain a large size. 

 There is only one European species, which is chiefly valuable as a fruit 

 tree, and as coppice-wood ; the timber of full-grown trees being brittle, and 

 of short duration. The foliage is large and ornamental ; and, in this and its 

 fruit, it bears a close analogy to the beech. 



1. C. VE'SCA G(Brtn. The eatable, sweet, or Spanish, Chestnut. 



Identification. Gaertn. Sem., 1. p. 181. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460. 

 nonymes. f&gus Castanea Lin. Hort. Cliff. 447. ; Castinea 

 Lam. Encyc. 1. p. 708., Eng. Bot. t. 886., Eng. Fl. 4. p. 151. 



. . ., . . . 



Synonymes. f&gus Castanea Lin. Hort. Cliff. 447. ; Castinea satlva Mill. Diet. No. 1. ; C. vulgaris 



. . . . ., . . . ., . . . . . 



Derivation. The term Sweet Chestnut is applied with reference to the fruit, in contradistinction to 

 the fruit of the horsechestnut, which is bitter. It is called the Spanish chestnut, because the best 

 chestnuts for the table, sold in the London markets, are imported from Spain. 



Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 886. ; N. Du Ham. 3. t. 19. ; the plates of this tree in Arb. Brit., 1st 

 edit., vol. viii. ; and our fig. 1706. - 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated ; 

 glabrous on each side. (IVilld.) A stately deciduous tree, rivalling the oak 

 in size and longevity ; but, in regard to its timber, comparatively worthless. 

 Asia Minor. Height 50 ft. to 70 ft. Cultivated in the temperate parts of 

 Europe from time immemorial. Flowers yellowish ; May. Fruit greenish, 

 enclosing a brown nut ; ripe in October. 



Varieties. These may be arranged in two classes ; those which are considered 

 botanical varieties, and those which are cultivated on account of their fruit. 



A. Botanical Varieties. 



*f. C.v.2 asplenifolia Lodd. Cat. 1636. C. heterophylla Hort. ; C. laciniata 

 Hort.; C. salicifolia Hort. The leaves cut into shreds, regularly 

 or irregularly, and sometimes so as to appear like linear-lanceolate 

 leaves ; and hence the epithet of salicifolia. 



C. v. 3 cochledta Lodd. Cat. 1836. The leaves cucullate, or hooded, 

 with a diseased stunted appearance. 



t C. t>. 4 gldbra Lodd. Cat. 1836. C. v. foliis lucidis Hort. The 

 leaves rather thin, and more shining than those of the species. 



C. v. 5 glauca. C. glauca Hort. The leaves somewhat glaucous. 



C. v. Gvariegdta. C. v. foliis aureis Lodd. Cat. 1836. The leaves 

 variegated with yellow, with some streaks of white ; and the tree, 

 when of a larger size, makes a splendid appearance in spring, and is 

 admirably adapted for planting among evergreen shrubs, along with 

 the balsam poplar ; the colour of which, when the leaves first expand, 

 has all the rich yellow of this variety. 



1' C. v. 7 americdna. . C. v^sca Michx. N. Amer. Syl. iii. p. 9. This variety 

 has broader leaves than the European chestnut. 



B. Fruit-bearing Varieties. 



There are upwards of 20 sorts cultivated in the London Horticultural 

 Society's Garden, of which Mr. Thompson considers the four following as 

 deserving the preference for ornamental cultivation : Chataignier prime, 

 C. Rallue, the Downton Chestnut, and Prolific Chestnut. 



Besides these there are the following English sorts : Devonshire, Lewis's, 

 Lisbon, Masters's Canterbury, Knight's Prolific, and the New Prolific. 



The varieties cultivated in France for the table are divided into two kinds, 

 viz. les chataignes and les marrons ; the former being to the latter what the 

 crab is to the apple. The best marrons sold in Paris are the marrons de 

 Lyons ; and the best kinds of the common chestnut are : La Chataigne de 



