932 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



numerous, or solitary by abortion; compressed, membranous, winged. 

 Albumen present. {G. Don^ 



Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; lobed, with glandular ser- 

 ratures at the edges. Flowers in catkins, greenish yellow. Fruit in globular 

 capsules, brown. Trees, natives of Asia and North America, with beau- 

 tiful foliage, and intense fragrance. Decaying leaves of an intense purple, 

 Common soil, kept somewhat moist ; and seeds or layers. 



Genus I. 



LIQUIDA'MBAR L. 



The Liquidambar. 



Polyandria. 



Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia 



Identification. I.in. Gen., 1076. ; Reich., 1174.; Juss., 410. 



Synonymes. Altingjo Noronh. ; Liquidambar, Fr. ; Ambarbaum, Gfr. 



Derivation. From liquidus, liquid, and ambar, amber ; the plants exuding a liquid gum. 



Gen. Char., Sfc. See Ord. Char. 



5f 1. L. Styraci'flua L. The Sweet-Gum Liquidambar. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1418. ; Michx. Arb., 3. p. 194. ; N. Du Ham , 2. p. 42. 



Synonymes. Liquidambar ^rbor Pluk. Aim. 224. t. 42. f. 6. ; .Styrax ^'ceris ftlio Kaii Hist. 1481. 



Liquidambar resineux, Copalme de I'Amerique, Liquidambar Copal, Fr. ; Fliessender Ambarbaum 



Ger. : Storace liquida, Ital. 

 Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., I. t. 139. ; Michx. Arb., 3. t. 4. ; the plates of this tree in Arb. Brit., 



1st edit., vol. viii. ; and our ^g. 1738. 



Spec. Char., ^-c. Leaves palmately lobed, with the sinuses at the base of the 

 veins villose. (Willd.) A deciduous tree. North America, middle, western; 

 and southern States. Height 30 ft. to 50 ft. Introduced in 1681. Flowers 

 greenish yellow ; March and April. Fruit brown ; ripe in October. 



The liquidambar generally forms a branching tree, having very mucri the 

 appearance of a maple. The leaves die off of an intensely deep purplish red. 

 more or less mixed with orange, and with some leaves entirely of that colour. 

 They hang on the trees till the first frosts, when they drop off simultaneously. 

 The rate of growth of this tree, in the 

 climate of London, is from 8 ft. to 10 ft. in 

 10 years from the seed ; and in 20 years it 

 will attain the height of 25 or 30 feet, and 

 flower and ripen fruit. In Britain, the \mn- 

 cipal use of this tree is as an ornament to 

 lawns and pleasure-grounds ; in which it/ 

 has a most striking appearance, when the 

 leaves are dying off in autumn ; and it is 

 also very beautiful throughout the summer, 

 from the dark green and glossy surface 

 of its elegantly shaped leaves. When 

 bruised, the leaves are fragrant at all sea- 

 sons ; but in spring, when they are first 

 unfolding, after a warm shower, the sur- 

 rounding air is filled with their refreshing 

 odour. The liquidambar has a decided 

 |)reference for a moist soil, and will only 

 attain a timber-like size in a sheltered 

 situation. In British nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers, which 

 root with tolerable facility, and may be taken off at the end of the first 

 autumn after they have been formed. It is also propagated by seeds imported 

 from America. These are brought over in the catkins, and should not be 

 taken out of them till the time of sowing ; because the seeds, like those of the 

 pine and fir tribe, do not keep well when exposed to the air. The round 



1738. L. Stjrarlflua. 



I' 



IT, 



'3Sj, 



