21-13 



AKBOKETUM AND FRUT1CETUM. 



TART 111. 



trunk, smooth bark, and rather small head. Branchlets 

 leafy and tetragonal. Loaves alternate or opposite, lance- 

 olate, oblong, quite entire, glabrous, of a coriaceous tex- 

 ture, and a glaucous green ; about 2 in. long, and nearly 



1 in. broad, slightly striated longitudinally. The flowers 

 are unisexual ; the male catkins are ovate-oblong-shaped, 

 about the size of a pigeon's egg, on a short peduncle, thick, 

 and placed a little above the axes of the leaves. The 

 male catkins are composed of a great number of obtuse 

 imbricated scales: each scale is wedge-shaped, and ab- 

 ruptly curved inwardly at its upper extremity ; the lower 

 extremity is occupied by from 8 to 15 anthers, disposed 

 in two rows. The female catkins are of the same form 

 aj the males; and they also are formed of obtuse, imbri- 

 cated, thick, coriaceous scales. The dammar is distin- 

 guished from the pines and firs by its female flowers being 

 solitary and not twin ; and by the form and structure 

 of its male flowers. It approaches nearest to the genus 

 Araucaria, from which it differs in the form of its scales, 

 in the absence of a bractea to each female flower, and by 

 its seed being winged only on one side. (A. Rich, in 

 Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., t. 5. p. 321.) The tree is found 

 on the very summit of the mountains of Amboyna and 



Ternate. and in many of the Molucca Islands. The wood is said to resemble that of the cedar, 

 and to be light and of inferior quality, wholly unfit for any situation exposed to the action of 

 the weather, but answering tolerably well for indoor purposes. The most interesting produce of 

 the tree, however, is its resin. (See Dr. I.indl. in Penn. Cyc.} The resin, when it first flows from 

 the tree, is soft and viscous ; but in a few days it becomes as hard as stone, and has all the transpa- 

 rency and whiteness of crystal, especially that which adheres to the trees, and sometimes hangs from 

 them in the shape of icicles. These crystals are sometimes .3 in. or 4 in. broad, and 1 ft. long, and 

 exhibit an elegant striated appearance. They are very brittle, and, when broken, shine like glass. 

 The resin does not retain its whiteness more than five or six months ; after which it assumes a 

 beautiful amber colour. Though the resin generally exudes naturally in great abundance, it is 

 sometimes obtained artificially by making incisions in the bark. The smell of fresh and soft dam- 

 jnar is resinous; but, when dry, it does not em ; t any particular odour. When thrown upon burning 

 coals, it smells like turpentine and mastich. It is very inflammable, and burns without crackling, 

 though it emits a great quantity of acidulous smoke, which produces a very unpleasant effect on 

 those who are unaccustomed to it. (See Lambert's Pinus, ii. p. 99.) Dr. Lindley says : " Liquid 

 storax is thought to be yielded by the dammar pine ; and a substance called in India dammer, or 

 country resin, is procured from the same plant, or from a tree which Dr. Buchanan calls Chloroxy- 

 lon Dussada." (Ainslie, i. p. 337., as quoted in Nat. Syst. Bot., ed. 2., 1836.) This species was intro- 

 duced into England in 1804, by Sir Joseph Banks ; but, not being readily propagated, it is extremely 

 rare. The only plant that we recollect to have soen is that at Kew, where it is kept in the green- 

 house; though, as it is found on high mountains, it may possibly be as hardy as Cunningh&rm'a. 



1 2. D. AUSTRA^LIS Lamb. The southern Dammar, or Kauri, Pine. 



Idenfification. Lamb. Pin., ed 2., 2. t. 55. 



Synonymes. A'gathis australis Li mil. in Penn. Cyc. ; Cowrie tree, New Zealand Pitch tree, Kowrie 



Pine. 

 Engravings. Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 2. t. 55.; our Jig. 2310. to our usual scale ; and Jig. 2311. of the 



natural size. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves alternate or opposite, linear-oblong or elliptic, veinless, rigid. Cones tur- 

 binate; scales spreading, acute at the apex. (Lamb. Pin.} A large tree, a native of New Zea- 

 land. Introduced in 1821, but requiring the protection of a green house. 



Description. A large tree, attaining the height of from 80 ft. to 140 ft. Trunk very straight, with- 

 out branches to the height of 40 ft. or 70 It , and from 4 ft. to 7 ft. in diameter ; covered with an 

 entire, very thick, lead-coloured bark. Branches numerous, spreading, somewhat remote, about the 

 thickness of a man's body, divided into numerous small branches; ascending and leafy towards the 

 top, naked at bottom from the falling of the leaves. Wood 

 white, abounding in a liquid resin. Leaves numerous, op- 

 posite, often (in adult trees) alternate, sessile, linear-oblong, 

 or rarely elliptic, very similar in texture and appearance to 

 those of /?uxus, obtuse, quite entire, emarginate, coriaceous, 

 rigid, erect, and spreading ; from $ in. to 1 j in. long, and in. 

 to Jin. broad; flat on both sides, shining, nerveless; pale 

 green ; broadish at the base, not narrowed, as in D. orientalis. 

 Catkins solitary, axillary on the tops of the branches, on very 

 short thick footstalks; male cylindrical, erect, 1 in. long, 



2 lines in diameter, very compact, imbricated, hard, in some 

 having rounded bracteas at the base. AnthersS Ron one 

 scale, pendulous, situated under a convex, somewhat orbicu- 

 late, thick, bony, entire crest, scarcely adhering together, dis- 

 posed round the lower side of the columella, each filled with 

 yeUow pollen, 1-celled, opening longitudinally ; female erect, 

 oblong, 1 in. in length, on a very short, thick, woody, pedicel. 

 Cones scattered, solitary on the tops of the branches, turbinate, 

 erect, pedicellate : scales short, broad, wedge-shaped, thick, 

 coriaceous, closely imbricated, ferruginous on the inside; 

 dilated, waved, and membranaceous on the margin; thicker 

 externally towards the apex, woody, cartilaginous, smooth, 

 hard, of a dull leaden ash-colour, spreading and acute at the 

 apex : seeds in twos, wedge-shaped, brown, having at the 



apex on one side a membranaceous, quite entire, oblique, pale-coloured wing. (Lamb.) 



there 

 Cook's 



2310 



Geography, History, ftc. The kauri pine is a native of New Zealand, on the banks of the river 

 iere which Captain Cook named the Thames. It was discovered in the year 1769, on Captain 

 ook's first voyage, and an enormous tree of it was then cut down. The stralghtneM of the trunk, 



