262 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



Synoni/mes, Amygdal6phora Neck. ; Amandier, Fr. ; Mandelbaum, Ger. ; Mandorlo, Ital. 



Derivation. From ainnsso, to lacerate, in reference to the fissured shell of the nut. Martinim sus- 

 pects that it comes from a Hebrew word which signifies vigilant ; becauseits early flowers announce 

 the return of spring. 



Gen. Char. Drupe clothed with velvety pubescence, having a dry rind, which 

 sei);irates irregularly, containing a pitted or smooth putamen or nut. (Don's 



Mi/:.) 



Leaves simple, conduplicate when young, alternate, stipulate, deciduous. 

 Flowers nearly sessile, usually pink or rose coloured, rising either singly or 

 by pairs from the scaly buds, earlier than the leaves. Shrubs or trees of the 

 middle size, deciduous. Natives of the North of Africa, and the mountains 

 of Asia ; also of Russia, and the Levant. 



The fruit-bearing species are cultivated in the Middle and South of Europe 

 and the Levant, and are propagated chiefly by grafting ; and the others by 

 grafting, layers, suckers, or cuttings of the root. The almond was included 

 by Linnaeus in the same genus with the peach and nectarine, of both of which 

 it is, doubtless, the parent, as trees have been found with almonds in a 

 state of transition to peaches, and with both peaches and nectarines on the 

 same branch. 



js L A. NA^NA L. The dwarf, or shrubby. Almond. 



Idenlificalion. Wn. Mant., 396. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 530. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 482. 



Synonymes. Priinus inermis Gmel. ; A. nana var. a. vulgclris Dec. ; Amandier nain, Fr. ; Zwerche- 



mandel, Ger. ; Peschino della China, Ifa/. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 161. ; N. Du Ham., 4. t. 30. ; and our Jigs. 422, 423. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves oblong-linear, tapered at the base, serrated, glabrous; 

 Flowers solitary, rose-coloured. Calyx cylindrically bell-shaped. Fruit ofthe 

 same shape as that of A. communis, but much smaller. {Dec. Prod.) A 

 deciduous low shrub. Calmuc Tartary, very frequent on the banks of the 

 Volga, and about Odessa. Height 2 ft. to 3 ft. Introduced in 1683. 

 Flowers rose coloured ; March and April. 



Varieties. 



M A. n. 2 georgica Dec. A. georgica Desf. Arb. 2. p. 221., and Lodd. 

 Cat. It difl^ers from the species in having the lobes of the calyx 

 lanceolate, and as long as its tube ; and the styles only tomentose at 

 the base, being scarcely so there, and not protruded. A native of 

 Georgia, which has been cultivated in the Geneva Botanic Garden. 



^ A, n.3 campestris Ser. A. campestris Besser Enum. p. 46. No, HSS., 

 Hort. PL Aust. 2. p. 2., and Lodd. Cot. ; A. Besseria Schott in Cat. 

 Hort. Viiidoh. 1818, and Lodd. Cat. Leaves 

 broader. Lobes ofthe calyx as Jong as the tube. 

 Petals narrower, longer, and white. Styles to- 

 mentose at the base. The form of the nut, ac- 

 cording to Besser, is various. Supposed to be a 

 native of the South of Podolia. (Dec. Prod.) This 

 variety is in the Hort. Soc. Garden, where it 

 was raised from seeds received from Dr. Fischer 

 of Petersburg. 



St A. w. 4 sibirica Lodd. Cat., and Lodd. Bot. Cab. 

 1599., and our fig. 421., is extant in some British 

 botanical collections, where it is an upright shrub, 

 about 6 ft. high, with wand-like shoots, clothed 

 with fine, long, willow-like, glos.sy, serrate leaves ; 

 on account of which, and its upright habit of 

 growth, the latter being different from that of all 

 the other species and varieties of almond, it is va- 

 luable in every collection where variety of cha- 

 racter is desired. H. S, ,, , 



421. A. n. sibnnca. 



All the different forms of the dwarf almond are low shrubs, seldom exceedin; 

 2 or 3 feet in height. The leaves bear a general resemblance to those of somi 



