310 



CASTANOPSIS CATALPA 



branched, slender spines, enclosing a small, pale brown, shining nut, which 

 is edible. 



Native of Oregon and California; introduced in 1844. The above 

 description is based on cultivated English specimens, but in California, 

 where it is sometimes 115 ft. high, with a trunk 6 ft. in diameter, the 

 leaves are occasionally 6 ins. long. Other species of Castanopsis. have 

 recently been introduced from China, but of them we know little. 

 At present, this West American species, with its leaves golden yellow 

 below, is quite unlike anything in our gardens. Although so long 

 introduced, there appear to be few large specimens 'in the country. 

 The finest, I believe, is in Lord Ducie's garden at Tortworth; this 



now about 30 ft. high, its trunk 15 ins. in thickness. 



is 



CASTANOPSIS CHRYSOPHYLLA. 



At Kew it thrives best in the sandy soil of the place with peat and leaf- 

 soil mixed. One plant raised from seed of Lord Ducie's tree is now 20 

 ft. high. In my experience, it is fatal to expose the trunk of this tree to 

 full sunlight, and its lower branches should not be cut away. It can best 

 be raised from seed, which ripens in this country, and germinates freely. 

 Closely allied to Castanea, it differs in its evergreen foliage, and in its nuts 

 not ripening until the second season. 



CATALPA. BIGNONIACE^:. 



Like many other genera of hardy trees and shrubs, the Catalpas are 

 found in both the Old and New Worlds. Although first made known to 

 English cultivators from N. America in the form of C. bignonioides 

 (which was introduced in 1726), the genus has been found in later times 



