932 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



numerous, or solitary by abortion ; compressed, membranous, winged. 

 Albumen present. (G. Don.") 



Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; lobed, with glandular ser- 

 ratures at the edges. Flowers in catkins, greenish yellow. Fruit in globular 

 capsules, brown. Trees, natives of Asia and North America, with beau- 

 tiful foliage, and intense fragrance. Decaying leaves of an intense purple. 

 Common soil, kept somewhat moist ; and seeds or layers. 



GENUS I. 



LIQUIDA'MBAR L. THE LIQUIDAMBAR. Lin. Syst. MonceVia 

 Polyandria. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., 1076. ; Reich., 1174.; Juss., 410. 



Synonymes. Altingta Noronh. ; Liquidambar, Fr. ; Ambarbaum, Ger. 



Derivation. From liquidus, liquid, and ambar, amber ; the plants exuding a liquid gum. 



Gen. Char., %c. See Ord. Char. 



It 1. L. STYRACI'FLUA L. The Sweet-Gum Liquidambar. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1418. ; Michx. Arb., 3. p. 194. ; N. Du Ham , 2. p. 42. 



Synonymes. Liquidambar 6rbor Pluk. Aim. 224. t. 42. f. 6. ; St^rax ^4'ceris f&lio Rait Hist. 1481. 



Liquidambar resineux, Copalme de 1'Amerique, Liquidambar Copal, Fr. ; Fliessender Ambarbaum 



Ger. ; Storace liquida, Ital. 

 Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., 1. 1. 139. ; Michx. Arb., 3. t. 4. ; the plates of this tree in Arb. Brit., 



1st edit., vol. viii. ; and our fig. 1738. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves palmately lobed, with the sinuses at the base of the 

 veins villose. (Willd.) A deciduous tree. North America, middle, western, 

 and southern States. Height 30ft. to 50 ft. Introduced in 1681. Flowers 

 greenish yellow ; March and April. Fruit brown ; ripe in October. 

 The liquidambar generally forms a branching tree, having very much the 



appearance of a maple. The leaves die off of an intensely deep purplish red, 



more or less mixed with orange, and with some leaves entirely of that colour. 



They hang on the trees till the first frosts, when they drop off simultaneously. 



The rate of growth of this tree, in the 



climate of London, is from 8ft. to 10ft. in 



10 years from the seed ; and in 20 years it 



will attain the height of 25 or 30 feet, and 



flower and ripen fruit. In Britain, the prin- 



cipal use of this tree is as an ornament to 



lawns and pleasure-grounds ; in which it 



has a most striking appearance, when the 



leaves are dying off in autumn ; and it is 



also very beautiful throughout the summer, 



from the dark green and glossy surface 



of its elegantly shaped leaves. When 



bruised, the leaves are fragrant at all sea- 



sons ; but in spring, when they are first 



unfolding, after a warm shower, the sur- 



rounding air is filled witji their refreshing 



odour. The liquidambar has a decided 



preference for a moist soil, and will only 



attain a timber-like size in a sheltered 



situation. In British nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers, which 



root with tolerable facility, and may be taken off at the end of the first 



autumn after they have been formed. It is also propagated by seeds imported 



from America. These are brought over in the catkins, and should not be 



taken out of them till the time of sowing ; because the seeds, like those of the 



pine and fir tribe, do not keep well when exposed to the air. The round 



1738. L. Styraclflua. 



