FAGACEAE. — CASTANOPSIS 197 



Exped. No. 5186; tree 8 m. tall). Chekiang: vicinity of Ningpo, 

 1908, D. Macgregor. 



This very distinct species is distributed from the neighborhood of Ningpo through 

 the valley of the Yangtsze River as far west as Mt. Omei. On the mountains of 

 western Hupeh and of eastern Szech'uan it is common in woods. This Chestnut 

 grows to a larger size than any other Chinese species and trees from 20 to 25 m, 

 tall with trunks from 1 to 3 m. are common. Occasionally trees 30 m. tall and 5 m. 

 in girth of trunk are met with. The leaves are green on both surfaces and entirely 

 glabrous except for a few appressed hairs on the under side of the primary and 

 secondary veins. The leaves are without lepidote glands except on the upper sur- 

 face of the very young leaves, from which they disappear very early. Although 

 variable in size the leaves are very characteristic; they are always caudate-acumi- 

 nate and broadest below or at the middle, and the secondary veins are projected in 

 long aristate points. The shoots are dark-colored and quite glabrous and the winter- 

 buds are brownish, short, broadly ovoid, obtuse or subacute and are glabrous or 

 nearly so. The styles vary in number from 6 to 9, and the fruit may be solitary or 

 two or three on a short spike. The spines of the ripe involucre are sparsely villose. 

 All the fruits we have seen contain a sohtary nut, but it is probable that occasionally 

 two occur, as they do in the American C. pumila Miller. Dode's C. Fargesii, as 

 his figure shows, is apparently founded on such an abnormal fruit, for the descrip- 

 tion of the leaves, shoots and buds can apply to no other Chinese species. 



How distinct this species is is well shown by the fact that Skan describes it as 

 a Castanopsis. Certainly it suggests this genus more than that of Castanea, but 

 the leaves are deciduous. The specimens with male flowers Skan referred to 

 C. saliva Mill. 



A picture of this tree will be found under No. 0126 of the collection of Wilson's 

 photographs. In Hupeh this Chestnut is known as the Ch'in Pan-li. 



The Asiatic species of Castanea have been little understood. Some botanists 

 have referred all to the European C. saliva Miller and others have divided them into 

 numerous species and varieties. With the great mass of material before us it is 

 evident that there are four well-marked species in eastern Asia and these may be 

 readily distinguished by their leaves, not to mention other characters, as follows: 



Caslanea Henryi Rehder & Wilson: Leaves not lepidote except on the upper 

 surface when very young and quite glabrous save for a few appressed hairs on the 

 primary and secondary veins on the under side before the leaves unfold. 



Caslanea mollissima Blume: Leaves not lepidote, normally densely clothed on 

 the under side with a pale felt of stellate hairs, only occasionally quite glabrous. 



Castanea Seguinii Dode : Leaves densely lepidote on the under side, otherwise 

 normally quite glabrous except the primary and secondary veins on the under side, 

 which are villose, very rarely obscurely pubescent. 



Caslanea crenata Siebold & Zuccarini : Leaves lepidote on the under side, usually 

 more or less clothed with a short felt of stellate hairs, occasionally quite glabrous. 



The last species is confined to Japan and to Korea and the other three to China, 

 where they are widely distributed in the temperate parts of the Empire. 



CASTANOPSIS Spach. 



Castanopsis hystrix A. De Candolle in Jour. Bot. I. 182 (1863); 

 Prodr. XVI. pt. 2, 111 (1864). — Miquel in Ann. Mus. Lugd.-Bat. I. 



