CUPULIFEILE 537 



Leaves simple, cauline, alternate, stipulate, petiolate, evergreen, 

 stellately pubescent on both surfaces, deep green and shining on 

 the upper surface, ultimately glabrous there in the adult or old 

 stage of the tree, and hoary with stellate pubescence on the under 

 surface, penninerved, distantly serrate in the seedling stage, but 

 nearly always quite entire in the adult tree ; petioles short, terete, 

 stout at the base, and tapering upwards, stellately pubescent ; stip- 

 ules linear-subulate, attenuate, dry, scarious, brownish, caducous. 



Nos. 1-5. Small, scarious, brown scales. 



No. 6. Very small, cuneate, tridentate at the apex. 



No. 7. Small, oblong. 



No. 8. Small, obovate. 



No. 9. Lanceolate-oblong, distantly serrate, revolute and carti- 

 laginous at the margin, 3'3 cm. long, T2 cm. wide. 



No. 10. Elliptic-oblong, acute, distantly serrate. 



Nos. 11-13. Elliptic-oblong, acute, acutely serrate. 



The leaves of the typical form in the adult tree are oblong or 

 ovate-oblong, acute, nearly always quite entire, revolute at the 

 margin, deep green and shining above, hoary beneath with a stel- 

 late pubescence. Q. Ilex far. serratifoha has the leaves serrate even 

 in the adult. 



Castanea vulgaris, Lam. 



Pistils generally three together, enclosed in a four-leaved in- 

 volucre covered with a dense mass of compound stellately-branching 

 bracts ; ovary of six to nine carpels, six- to nine-celled with two 

 ovules in each cell ; ovules pendulous, anatropous ; micropyle 

 superior, a little above the hilum. 



Fruit a nut, at first six- to nine-celled, but soon becoming one- 

 celled and one-, rarely two-seeded, ovoid, compressed on the inner 

 side of the two lateral ones, and on two sides of the middle one, 

 glabrous at the base externally but silky towards the top, and 

 densely lined internally with silky white hairs. Involucre opening 

 to allow the indehiscent fruits to escape. 



Seed triangular-ovoid, usually deeply furrowed longitudinally 

 on the ventral side, radiately nerved from the radicle or micropyle 

 d.ow T nwards and slightly anastomosing ; raphe ventral ; hilum near 

 the apex on the ventral aspect, and below the radicle. 



Endosperm always thin, transparent, jelly-like, occupying all the 

 lower part of the seed while the embryo is young, but ultimately all 

 absorbed by the embryo, leaving the seed exalbuminous. 



Embryo straight, fleshy, transparent white, ultimately large, 

 occupying the whole interior of the seed, and then milky white, or 



