which have their Sexes dioecious, 309 



1822. Mr. D. Don has an impression that the first plants of this species in 

 Britain were raised here from imported seeds : if so, a plant or plants of each 

 of the sexes might have arisen from these seeds, and be still in Britain some- 

 where, although they have not yet flowered to be distinguishable. 



Shepherdzffl canadensis (13878.). 



It is stated in the Encyc. of Plants, in Sweet's Hort. Brit., and in Loudon's 

 Hort. Brit., that this species flowers, or at least has flowered, in Britain in 

 April and May. However rarely or usually it may do this, not any one has, 

 it seems, published a figure of it in its flowering state. As it was a feature in 

 Encyc. of Plants to give a figure of at least one species in every genus, and as 

 S. canadensis is the only species therein registered, a figure of it (j%. 13878.) 

 has been given ; but this figure does not exhibit the flowering, or the flower or 

 flowers, of the species. 



The male sex. Are the plants of S. canadensis that are in Britain of this 

 sex ? 



The female sex. Are the plants of S. canadensis in Britain of this sex ? 



Are plants of both sexes of S. canadensis in Britain ? 



S. argentea. 



Mr. Sweet had not known this species to flower in Britain : see his Hort. 

 Brit,, 1830, p. 431. Mr. G. Don has given, in Loudon's Hort. Brit., its time 

 of flowering in Britain, April and May. J. B. Russell, Boston, America, has 

 communicated, in a notice on this species, in Card. Mag., vii. 570, 571., that 

 " It is one of our [N. Americans'] earliest flowering trees, being covered with 

 blossoms in March." 



The male sex. Is a plant of this in Britain ? Has this sex ever flowered 

 in Britain ? (^Quoted Information on the Flowers of this Sex.) " Male flowers in 

 a catkin, octandrous." (Encyc. of Plants, p. 817.) In this work, S. argentea is 

 not registered, S. canadensis only ; but as the character is generic, it is, if the 

 author had, when he framed it, known of S. argentea, as applicable to this as 

 to that. On S. argentea, detailed characters are quoted from Nuttall, in 

 Gard, Mag., vii. 571. Two of these are, " Flowers small, laterally aggre- 

 gated : " these are probably only applicable to the flowers of the naale sex ; 

 and, farther, " Male flowers divided to the base, segments sub-ovate, obtuse ; 

 filaments eight, very short ; anthers oblong, two-celled." (Nuttall, as gathered 

 from a quotation by J. B. Russell, in Gard, Mag., vii. 571.) 



The female sex. Is a plant of this in Britain ? Has this sex been known 

 to flower in Britain ? (Quoted Infonnation on the Flowers of this Sex.) " Fe- 

 male [flowers] racemose at the ends of the branches Fruit of i7ipp6- 



phae." (Encyc of Plants, p. 817.) This is subject to the remark made under 

 the quotation from the Encyc, under the male sex. " Female flowers smaller 

 [than the male ones], shortly pedunculate, with eight glands ; no vestiges of 

 stamina. Style one. Stigma thick and oblique. Germ inferior. Berries 

 small, and collected into clusters, red [In another portion of the quoted mat- 

 ter, they are called scarlet], and succulent [In another part of the quoted mat- 

 ter they are stated to be diaphanous] ; sparingly scattered with scales, always 

 more or less acid [In another part of the quoted matter, stated to be pleasantly 

 acid]. Seeds subovate and shining, much like that of ITippophae. (Nuttall, 

 as quoted by J. B. Russell, in Gard. Mag., vii. 571.) Mr. Russell has himself 

 communicated on its fruit as follows : — " Its fruit is about the size of the red 

 Antwerp currant, much richer to the taste, and forms one continued cluster 

 on every branch and twig. We consider it one of the greatest acquisitions of 

 the fruit-bearing kind that has recently been brought into notice in our country. 

 .... The Messrs. Winships, nurserymen, at Brighton, near Boston, I believe, 

 are the only persons who have this tree under cultivation, at least to any great 

 extent. Their standard tree is about 14 ft. high, and is eight years old from 

 the seed." 



H. argentea. Mr. Russell has noted, in Gard. Mag., these names for it as 

 .being in use in North America : — " The Missouri silver leaf or buffalo-berry 

 tree. It is also called by the Indians rabbit-berry, and the beef-suet tree. The 



z 3 



