2IO THE HAZEL. 



thev show certain characteristics which the\' inaintaiii thrtnighout 

 their t^rowth. The leat-hladc appears tinted U\ tlie secondary ribs 

 and drawn into puckers hv tlie tertiar\- rilis. 



At this stao;e it is a dull vellowish-Ljreen without any u;loss. 

 The stipules become a brighter green and remain at the base of the 

 stalk which supports the expanded leaves. When fully grown the 

 leayes are from t\\ o-and-a-halt to three inches long, hairy, with a 

 wavv indented outline, and, as has been said, the blades puckered 

 and riuted. The colour is now a dark bluish-green on the upper 

 side, on the under side a paler green with noticeable yellowish ribs. 

 The leaves, and tlie shoot and stalks which bear them, all lie flat 

 and in the same plain with one another. This position is often 

 maintained on the upright twigs as well as on the horizontal and 

 the pendent ones, so that twig and leaves are in one vertical plane, 

 and sunlight passing through them lends their green great brilliancy. 

 Often, however, the leaves attached to a vertical twig lie horizontally, 

 their petioles being set at halt a right angle to it. The leaf-petioles 

 are sometimes curved towards the twig, hence the larger leaves over- 

 lap it, although the twig itself does not form a straight line, but, 

 like that of a Beech, diverges slightly from the point at which it 

 has borne a leaf towards the next point of leaf production ; the 

 zig-zag thus arrived at is, however, less marked than in the case of 

 a Beech. Generallv speaking the arrangement of the leafage is in 

 two rows down the shoot — the leaves in one row alternatiiiLr with 

 those in tlic other row on the other side ot the shoot, but it is 

 iiotcwortliy tliat on upright suckers the leaves are often arranged in 

 three rows. The newest shoots are hairy and reddibh-green in colour, 

 later on they change to a yellowish-brown, with green markings 

 where the outer skin has heconie hayed. The older switches are 



