LXXVII. CONl'FERiE: Pi'CEA. 1037 



Leaves simple, 2-ranked, exstipulate, evergreen; linear. Flowers yellowish. 

 Trees, natives of Europe, Asia, and North America, generally in regions 

 more temperate than those in which the species of spruce abound. Re- 

 markable for the regularity and symmetry of their pyramidal heads ; readily 

 distinguished from the genus yi'bies, by their leaves being more decidedlV 

 in two rows ; by their cones being upright, anil having the scales deciduous ; 

 and by the seeds being irregular in form. The nucleus of the seed is ex- 

 posed at the inner angle, through a considerable opening in the outer testa, 

 as if the jimction of the two sides had been ruptured by the rapid enlarge- 

 ment of the nucleus. (D. Don.) In Britain, with the exception of P. 

 pectinata, they are solely to be considered as ornamental trees. 

 The species in British gardens may be thus arranged : 



A. Natives of Europe, Siberia, and the North-west of Asia. 



1. pectinata. 3. Pinsapo. 5. Pichta. 



2. cephalonica. 4. Nordmann/a[. 



B. Natives of North America. 



6. balsamea. 7. Frasen'. 



C. Natives of CaUfornia. 



8. grandis. 9. amabilis. 10. n6bilis. 11. bracteata. 



D. Natives of Mexico. 



12. religiosa. 13. hirtella. 



E. Natives of Nepal. 



14. Wehhidna. 16. Ptndrow. 



A. Natives of Europe, Siberia, and the North-west of Asia. 

 1 \. P. pectina'ta. The Comh-Wke-leaved Silver Fir. 



Synonymes. y^'bies of Pliny ; Pinns Picea Lin. Sp. PI. 1420. ; P. A^bies Du Hoi Harbl.-. ed. Pott, 

 t. 2. p. 133. ; A^bies. alba Mill. Diet. No. 1. ; A. Taxi f61io Tourn. Inst. p. SS."}. ; A. vulgaris Puir. 

 Diet. Encyc. 6. p. 514. ; A. pectinata Drc. Ft. Fr. 2. p. 275. ; A. /axif&lia Hurt. Par. ; A. Picea 

 Lindl. in Penn. Cyc. No 1. ; A. excelsa Link Abliand., &c., jahr 1827, p. 182. ; Spanish lir ; Sapin 

 commun, Sapin a Feuilles d'lf, Sapin blanc, Sapin arsrente. Sapin en Peigne, Sapin de Normandie, 

 Fr. ; Weiss Tanne, Edeltanne, Ger. ; Abete argentino, Ital. 



Evaraiiiiigs. Lamb. Pin., ed, 2., 1. t. 40. ; N. Du Ham., 5. t. 82. ; the plate of this species in Arb. 

 Brit., 1st edit., vol. viii. ; our Jig. 1939. of the natural size, aadjig. 1938. to our usual scale. 



Spec. Char., S^c. Leaves solitary, flat, obtuse ; 2-ranked, with their points 

 turned up. Cones axillary, cylindrical, erect ; scales with a long dorsal 

 bractea. Anthers with a short crest, with two teeth. Buds short, egg- 

 shaped, blunt ; of a reddish yellow, with from 16 to 20 blunt scales. Leaves 

 from ^ in. to 1 in. long, stiflj turned up at the points; of a shining dark 

 green above, and with two lines of silvery white on each side of the midrib 

 beneath. Cones from 6 in. to Sin. long, and from 1^ in. to 2 in. broad ; 

 cylindrical ; green when young, afterwards reddish, and when ripe brown. 

 Scale iin. to Ijin. long, and l^in. broad. Seeds variously angular, |in. 

 long, and .f^ in. broad. Cotyledons 5. A lofty tree. Central Europe, 

 and the West and North of Asia ; rising on mountains to the commence- 

 ment of the zone of the Scotch pine. Height 80 ft. to 100 ft., rarely 150 ft. 

 Introduced in 1603. The blossoms appear in May, and the cones are ma- 

 tured in the October of the following year. 



Varieties. 



1 P. p. 2 forfuosa Booth. Branches and branchlets remarkably twisted 



or crooked. 

 1 P. p. 3fd/iis variegdtis. Leaves variegated. 

 1 P. p. '^ cinerea. Pinus Picea cinerea Baum. Cat. ed. 1835. A low 



plant with greyish bark, not yet introduced. 



The silver fir is the noblest tree of its genus in appearance, and the only 

 species worthy of cultivation in Britain for its timber. The rate of growth 



