OUR NUT TREES 



ern China. In central and western China it is repre- 

 sented by the varieties sutcbuenensis and yunnanensis 

 which are large bushes often 20 feet tall and differing 

 in technical characters. The other species (C. Sie- 

 holdii) resembles the American C. rostrata in that the 

 husk completely encloses the nut and, moreover, 

 is contracted above the apex of the nut into a narrow 

 tube which is often twice as long as the nut itself. 

 Several varieties, based largely on the length and 

 shape of the husk, have been distinguished. On 

 Quelpaert, a volcanic island off the south coast of 

 Korea, grows a small-fruited form in which the husk 

 is contracted into a very short beak. This has been 

 named C. hallaisanensis. Siebold's Hazel is a large 

 bush, similar in habit and foliage to the European 

 C. Avellana and is widely distributed in Japan and 

 on the mainland of eastern Asia westward to the 

 Chino-Thibetan borderland. 



Lastly, mention may be made of the Almond 

 (Prunus Amygdahts), a tree closely related to the 

 Peach and Apricot, native of Persia and Asia Minor. 

 In Syria and in southern Europe, especially in Spain, 

 and also in California, it is much cultivated for the 

 kernels of its fruits which constitute the almonds of 

 commerce. There are many varieties mainly dis- 

 tinguished by the thickness of the shell enclosing the 

 kernel. 



'95 



