PINACEAE. — ABIES 49 



Arbor; ramuli glabri, fusco-rubri v. brunnei, vetustiores cinereo-fusci; pulvini 

 lineares, cicatricibus impressis cincereo-albidis late ovalibus v. orbicularibus ; 

 gemmae ovoideae, resinosae, inter folia absconditae, pcrulis fuscis ovatis obtusis 

 carinatis erosis. Folia spiraliter disposita, curvata, assurgentia, lineari-ligulata, 

 acuta V. obtusa, rarius obsolete eraarginata, basi in petiolum distinctum flavescen- 

 tem contracta, 10-20 mm. longa et 2-2.5 mm. lata, supra canaliculata, nitida, 

 atroviridia, sulatus carinata duobus fascicbus alb is stomatiferis notata; canales 

 resiniferi 2 laterales, in medio parenchymatis positi. Strobili violacei-purpurei, 

 oblongo-ovoidei, apice rotundati, basi applanati, sessiles, 5.5-7 cm. longi et 3.2- 

 3.5 diam., sparse resinosi; bracteae squamis paullo breviores, cuneato-obovatae, 

 erosae, breviter cuspidatac; squamae late reniformes, 8-10 mm. longae et 15-18 

 mm. latae, margine incrassatae et sursum deflexae, basi auriculatae, manifeste 

 unguiculatae; semina alls quam squamae paullo brevioribus truncatis nitidis pallide 

 griseis leviter purpurascentibus. 



Western Kansu : " Lotani," 1911, W. Purdom (No. 805); banks of Tow 

 River, 1911, W. Purdom (No. 823). Shensi : Tai-pei-shan, alt. 3000 m., 1910, W. 

 Purdom (No. 405). Eastern Szech'uan: Chengkou Ting, P. Farges (type). 



This Silver Fir appears to us quite distinct from A. Fargcsii Franchet and in 

 raising it to a species we have drawn up a complete description based on Pur- 

 dom's No. 805, which as far as we can determine from a fragment and photograph 

 of the type received from Paris is identical with Franchet's variety. Unfortu- 

 nately we are without any precise information about this tree, which is char- 

 acterized by its shining red or purplish brown glabrous branchlets medium- 

 sized symmetrical, scarcely resinous, violet-black cones with shortly cuspidate, 

 obovate-cuneate bracts; and by its ascending, stout, relatively short and broad 

 leaves with a distinct petiole which is yellowish in color. It is most closely allied 

 to A. Faxoniana Rehder & Wilson which is distinguished by its villose branchlets 

 longer and thinner leaves, its exserted long-cuspidate spatulate or cuneate-oblong 

 bracts, and by its usually very resinous cones. In transverse section the leaves are 

 seen to be very broad, with median resin-ducts, and a single layer of hypoderm 

 cells on the ventral side but none on the dorsal side except immediately beneath 

 the midrib. The margins are rounded with several layers of sclerotic tissue. 



Purdom's No. 405 possibly does not belong here. The specimens are without 

 leaves and the cones are immature with exserted bracts, and were probably gathered 

 from a dead branch. Young seedling plants bearing this number and raised from 

 seed collected by Purdom can scarcely be distinguished from A. Fargesii Franchet. 

 For geographical reasons we refer this No. 405 tentatively to A. sutchuenensis 

 Rehder & Wilson rather than to A. Fargesii Franchet, though it may belong to 

 the latter species. 



The specimens referred by Beissner (in Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital. 1901, 358) to A. 

 Mariesii and those referred in his Handb. Nadelholzk. ed. 2, 192 (1906) to A. 

 Veitchii, which are doubtless the same as mentioned by Masters (in Jour. Linn. 

 Soc. XXVI. 557 [1902]), probably belong either to A. sutchuenensis or possibly to 

 A. Fargesii Franchet but without seeing the specimens it is impossible to decide. 

 It is now believed that the Chinese species of Pinaceae are confined to China and 

 it is highly improbable that either A. Mariesii Masters, or A. Veitchii Lindley or 

 any other Japanese Fir or Spruce occurs in China proper. 



Abies sibirica Ledebour, var. nephrolepis Trautvetter in Maximowicz in Mim. 

 Sav. Str. Acad. Sci. St. Petersbourg, IX. 260 {Pnm. Fl. Amur.) (1859). — Patschke 

 in Bot. Jahrb. XL VIII. 643, fig. 3, 12 (1913). 



Abies nephrolepis Maximowicz in Bull. Acad. Sci. St. Pitersbourg, s6t. 

 3, X. 486 (1866); in Mel. Biol. VI. 22 (1866). — Komarov in Act. Horl. 



