180 ALNUS 



in nine or ten pairs ; stalk i to f in. long. Male catkins not yet seen. Fruits 

 solitary, on axillary stalks if to 2j ins. long ; oval, about f in. long, in. wide ; 

 seed with a broad thin wing. 



Native of W. China ; discovered by Henry in Szechuen, in 1899 ; introduced 

 by Wilson in 1907. This species is very distinct from all other cultivated 

 alders except A. lanata in its solitary, long-stalked fruits. The foliage, 

 too, is distinct in its large size and dark, smooth, glossy green appearance. 

 We know little of its garden value or real hardiness as yet, but it grows at 

 4000 ft. altitude. 



A. LANATA, Duthie^ is another alder found in W. China by Wilson, also with 

 solitary fruits. It may be no more than a form of A. cremastogyne, but is 

 easily recognised, especially when the foliage is young, by the dense brown 

 woolly covering of the under-surface of the leaves, leaf-stalks, flower-stalks, and 

 young shoots. Male catkins 2 to 3 ins. long. Fruits as in A. cremastogyne. 



A. ELLIPTICA, Requien. HYBRID ALDER. 



A natural hybrid, between A. glutinosa and A. cordifolia, found in Corsica, 

 on the banks of the river Salenzana, near its mouth. Leaves oval to roundish, 

 i to 3 ins. long, I to 2-| ins. wide ; rounded at the apex, rounded or broadly 

 wedge-shaped at the base, finely toothed ; glossy dark green above, smooth 

 except for tufts of down in the vein-axils beneath. Male catkins slender, 3 to 

 4 ins. long. Fruits f to I in. long, ^ in. wide. There is a tree over 70 ft. high 

 on the banks of the lake at Kew, but its origin is unknown. It was grown as 

 "A. cordifolia var." until identified with the above by Prof. Henry. It is quite 

 possible this particular tree may have originated as a hybrid under cultivation. 

 It leans more to A. cordifolia than the other parent, but the leaves are never 

 heart-shaped at the base, and rarely pointed ; the fruits are not so large and 

 broad, and the male catkins are longer. 



A. FIRM A, Siebold. 



A small tree, up to 30 ft. high, of graceful habit, with long slender branches 

 downy when young ; winter buds -not stalked. Leaves resembling those of a 

 hornbeam, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, rounded or wedge-shaped at the 

 base, more or less, slender-pointed, finely toothed (often doubly so), 2 to 4^ ins. 

 long, i to 2 ins. wide, with many parallel veins ; upper surface with flattened 

 hairs between the veins, lower one downy, especially on the midrib and veins ; 

 stalk hairy, \ in. to f in. long. Male catkins often solitary or in pairs, 2 to 3 

 ins. long, opening in March and April. Stalk of female inflorescence glandular- 

 hairy. Fruits | to i in. long, oval. 



Native of Japan; probably introduced by John Gould Veitch about 1862. 

 Remarkably distinct from all other alders in the numerous, closely set, con- 

 spicuous nerves, this is a very graceful tree as well. It appears to be common 

 in Japan, where, Sargent observes, it is largely planted on the margins of the 

 rice fields of Tokyo to afford " support for the poles on which the freshly cut 

 rice is hung to dry." Although well marked from other species, it varies in 

 itself, and three forms are distinguished, which by some authorities are 

 regarded as distinct species. They are as follows : 



Var. MULTINERVIS, Regel (A. multinervis, C. K. Schneider}. Leaves long, 

 with eighteen to twenty-four pairs of veins, conspicuously double-toothed ; 

 stalks short, \ to \ in. long ; fruits small, pendulous, little more than \ in. long. 

 This is the form originally introduced to Britain. 



Var. YASHA, Winkler (A. Yasha, Matsumura).Lza.vzs shorter, simple- 

 toothed or not conspicuously double-toothed ; veins in ten to sixteen pairs ; 

 stalks to f in. long. Fruits larger, f in. long, and broader in proportion. 

 This was introduced to Kew in 1893. 



