ALNUS 183 



long-pointed leaves ; and more than all, its habit of flowering in spring 

 distinguishes it. 4 



A. SP^ETHII, Callier, is a hybrid between japonica and subcordata, and was 

 sent out by Spath of Berlin in 1908. 



A. MARITIMA, NuttalL SEASIDE ALDER. 



A small tree, occasionally up to 30 ft. high, with a trunk i to \\ ft. in girth, 

 but, according to Sargent, more often a shrub ; young shoots at first downy, 

 becoming smooth later. Leaves obovate, sometimes oval or ovate, 2 to 4 ins. 

 long, \\ to 2^ ins. wide ; wedge-shaped at the base, with short, broad points, 

 the margins set with small, gland-tipped teeth ; upper surface dark glossy 

 green, smooth ; lower one dull, smooth, or with tufts of down in the vein-axils ; 

 stalks slightly downy, \ to | in. long. Male flowers expanding in autumn 

 on rough-stalked catkins i to i\ ins. long, formed the same summer in the 

 uppermost leaf-axils. Female catkins about \ in. long at the time of fertilisation, 

 expanding and ripening the following year into egg-shaped fruits to f in. 

 long. 



Native of Delaware and Maryland ; usually found near water. It was raised 

 from seed sent by Prof. Sargent to Kew in 1878, and a tree by the lake side 

 succeeded well until 1895, when it succumbed apparently to the great frosts 

 of February of that year, the effect of which, no doubt, had been heightened by 

 the low, wet situation in which it grew. Reintroduced in 1899, and already 

 producing fruit freely. Its habit of flowering in autumn distinguishes this 

 species from all other cultivated alders except A. nitida a very different tree 

 in other respects. 



A. NITIDA, Endlicher. HIMALAYAN ALDER. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 7654.) 



A tall tree, said to become 100 ft. high in its native place, with a trunk 10 to 

 15 ft. in girth ; bark of trunk blackish and ultimately scaling ; young twigs with 

 a little loose down at first, soon quite smooth. Leaves thin-textured, ovate to 

 oval, 3 to 6 ins. long, 2 to 3 ins. wide, rounded or broadly wedge-shaped at the 

 base, slender-pointed, coarsely toothed to almost entire ; shining-green above, 

 le beneath, and smooth except for tufts of down in the vein-axils ; stalks 

 to i in. long, slightly downy. Male catkins opening in September, and 

 produced as many as five together in a raceme, each catkin 4 to 6 ins. long, 

 | in. in diameter, and pendulous. Fruits three to five together, erect, oblong, 

 | to i^ ins. long. 



Native of the N.W. Himalaya ; introduced thence to Kew in 1882 through 

 seed sent by Mr R. E. Ellis. The trees then raised have succeeded very well, 

 and are now 40 to 50 ft. high, with trunks about 3 ft. in girth. Judging by 

 these, it would appear desirable to introduce this tree in quantity and try it 

 under forest conditions for moist places. It is at once distinguished from all 

 other alders except maritima (q.v.} by flowering in autumn, and from that 

 species by its large, handsome, shining leaves. The quadrangular scales on the 

 bark are not developed on young trees. 



A. OREGONA, NuttalL OREGON ALDER. 



(A. rubra, Bongard.*) 



A tree usually 40 to 50 ft., sometimes 80 ft. high (Sargent), with a trunk ^ ft. 

 6 ins. in diameter, and a narrow pyramidal head of rather pendulous branches ; 

 young shoots angled, not downy ; winter buds stalked, resinous. Leaves ovate 



