LXIX. i?ETULA^CE;E : ^'LNUS. 



831 



into leaf ; its foliage is of a rich gamboge yellow, and so fragrant as in moist 

 evenings to perfume the surrounding air. The tree is remarkably hardy, but, 

 unless in the vicinity of water, it seldom attains a large size in England, or is 

 of great duration. Readily propagated by suckers, which it sends up in abun- 

 dance ; or by cuttings, which, however, do not strike so readily as those of the 

 poplars belonging to P. nigra. 



*i 15. P. ca'ndicans Ait. The \\hi\.h\\-leaved Balsam-bearing, or Ontario, 



Poplar, 



Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 3. p. 406. ; Michx. N Amer. Sylva, 2. p. 239. t. 98. f. 2. ; Pursh 



Sept., 2. p. 618. 

 Synonyjnes. P. macrophylla Lindl. in Encyc. of Plants p. 840. ; P. latifblia Mccnch Meth. p. 338. ; 



P. ontariensis Desf, Hort. Par. ; P. cordata Lodd. Cat. 1836 ; P. canadensis Mcench Weissenst. 



81., but not of Michx. which is P. IsevigSta IVilid. ; Balm of Gilead Tree, Boston, North Amer. ; 



Peuplier liard, Canada ; Peuplier a Feuilles vernissees, Fr. 

 The Sexes. The male is in the London Horticultural Society's Garden ; the female is in the Duke 



of 'Wellington's garden at Apsley House, London. 

 Engravings. Michx. North Amer. Sylva, 2. t. 98. f. 2. ; and our^. 1511. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Shoot round. Bud very gummy. Stipules gummy. Pe- 

 tiole compressed in its upper part, hairy in many instances. Disk of leaf 

 heart-shaped at the base, ovate, acuminate ; serrated with blunt unequal 

 teeth ; 3-nervedj deep green on the upper surface, whitish on the under 

 one, on which the veins appear reticulate. Inflorescence similar to that of 

 P. balsamifera, and the disk of the leaf thrice as large as in that species. 

 (^Mickx.) A tree. North America, in the states of Rhode Island, Massa- 

 chusetts, and New Hampshire. Height 50 ft. to 60 ft. Introduced in 

 1772. Flowers purplish ; March, Decaying leaves brownish. 



The Ontario poplar bears a close general 

 resemblance to the balsam poplar : it has the 

 rigid fastigiate habit of that tree, its fine 

 fragrance, and its property of throwing up 

 numerous suckers ; but it differs from it, in 

 having very large heart-shaped leaves, and in 

 attaining a larger size, both in its native 

 country, and in British gardens. The buds 

 are covered with the same balsamic sub- 

 stance as those of P. balsamifera ; and the 

 leaves are of the same fine yellow coloui* in 

 spring, though they come out a fortnight 

 later. Like those of the balsam poplar, they 

 preserve, at all stages of their growth, the 

 same shape. Readily propagated by cuttings 



or suckers, but the tree will not attain a isn. p. candicans. 



large size unless on rich soil near water; 

 though, as the roots creep along the surface, the soil need not be deep. 



Order LXIX. ^ETULA^CE^. 



Ord. Char. Floiuers hermaphrodite, or unisexual. Perianth free, 4 5 lobed. 

 Stamens^ 12. Oj^crmm solitary. Stigmas 2, disVmct. i^raf^ indehiscent, 

 2-celled, compressed, sometimes expanded into wings at the sides. Seeds 

 solitary in the cells, pendulous. Albumen none. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; entire or serrated. Flowen 

 in terminal catkins. Trees deciduous ; natives of Europe, Asia, and North 

 America. Propagated by seeds or layers. 



The genera are two, which are thus contra-distinguished : 

 ^'lnus Tourn. Female catkins cylindrical ; seeds furnished with a membrans 



on each side. 

 5e'tula Toz/ra. Female catkins oval, borne on a branchy peduncle ; seeds 



not bordered with membranes. 



