396 CORYLOPSIS 



CORYLOPSIS. HAMAMELIDACE^E. 



A small genus of deciduous shrubs and small trees from N.E. Asia, 

 with bristle-toothed leaves resembling those of the hazel (Corylus) hence 

 the name. The flowers are pale, sometimes greenish, yellow, produced on 

 the leafless shoots in short, pendent spikes ; they are usually fragrant. 

 The parts of the flower are in fives. Leaves alternate, plaited in the bud 

 state, veins parallel, strong, proceeding from the midrib at an acute 

 angle. Fruit a woody capsule. From its hardy allies Hamamelis and 

 Parrotia the genus is very distinct. The spike on which the flowers 

 are borne is really a short branch. At the base there are a few thin, 

 membranous, bract-like organs, which are not accompanied by flowers, 

 but from the axils of which a leaf is developed after the flowers farther 

 along the spike have faded. By the time the seed-vessels are ripe these 

 leaves are fully developed. (See Hemsley in Gardeners' Chronicle, Jan. 

 13, 1906, p. 1 8.) Seeds in all the known species black. 



As garden shrubs the species of Corylopsis are not in the very first 

 rank ; at the same time the flowers have a soft beauty of their own, and 

 they are among the earliest to open in spring. Of the better known 

 species, C. spicata is the hardiest, but it is possible it may in future prove 

 to be equalled both in that respect and in beauty by the newer Chinese 

 species. 



C. PLATYPETALA, Rehder, is a new species from W. Hupeh, China, intro- 

 duced by Wilson in 1908. Its most distinctive character appears to be its 

 "broad, hatchet-shaped petals." Its branchlets are smooth except for sparse 

 gland-tipped hairs, yellow, grey the second year. Leaves ovate to roundish, 

 up to 4 ins. long, soon quite smooth, rather glaucous beneath. Flowers pale 

 yellow, fragrant, up to twenty in a raceme; calyx and fruit glabrous. 



Var. L^EVIS, from W. Szechuen, has brown year-old shoots. 



C. GRIFFITHII, Hemsley. 



(C. himalayana, Bot. Mag., t. 6779 not of Griffith?) 



A shrub with very downy young wood. Leaves 3 to \\ ins. long, 2 to 3 ins. 

 wide, broadly ovate or roundish, more or less heart-shaped at the base, long- 

 pointed, toothed ; upper surface pale green, not downy, lower one downy, 

 especially on veins and midrib ; stalk I to liins. long. Flowers pale primrose- 

 yellow, very closely packed on pendulous spikes, i J to 2^ ins. long, f in. wide ; 

 basal bracts very thin, silky inside, oblong, \ to i in. long, those of the flowers 

 much smaller and silky both sides ; anthers purplish red. 



Native of the Himalaya; introduced to Kew in 1879. One of the most 

 ornamental of Corylopsis, this is, unfortunately, not hardy enough to succeed 

 without wall protection. It may be recommended for the south-western 

 counties. 



C. PAUCIFLORA, Siebold. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 7736.) 



A shrub of spreading habit up to about 4 ft. high ; branches slender, 

 smooth. Leaves more or less broadly ovate, heart-shaped at the base, acutely 

 pointed ; i to 3 ins. long, i to 2 ins. wide ; with a few bristle-like teeth, 



