THE ARAUCAKIA6. 197 



Araucaria excelsa glauca differs from the species in the 

 colour of its foliage, which is of a lighter green, very glaucous and 

 distinct. 



Araucaria excelsa robusta.— A variety larger in all its parts 

 than the usual type, and with foliage of a deeper green. 



Araucaria Rulei. — A beautiful and distinct tree 50 feet high 

 and upwards, with horizontal branches and subpendulous branchlets. 

 The leaves of the adult tree much resemble and are nearly as large 

 as those of A. irribricata, but more closely appressed to the branches, 

 less sharply pointed, and have a prominent dorsal nerve. In its 

 young state, its habit and appearance is very variable ; the branchlets 

 are often quite pendulous, and the leaves are either trigonal by the 

 middle nerve being raised on the upper side, or obscurely four-angled 

 and compressed like those of A. Cooldi. It is a native of New 

 Caledonia, and was introduced into Europe by us in 1863. 



Named in compliment to Mr. John Eule, a horticulturist of South 

 Australia. 



Araucaria Rulei elegans is one of the most distinct of the 



numerous varieties of A. Rulei; the whorls of branches are more 

 approximate, the branchlets more slender, and the leaves smaller than 

 in the usual forms. It is a handsome and attractive plant for the 

 conservatory. 



Two other species of Araucaria have been described under the names 

 of Araucaria Balansai and A. Muelleri. They are both natives of 

 New Caledonia, where they are said to be quite rare. 



Allied to the Araucarias, although possessing little external resem- 

 blance to them, is a genus of lofty trees confined to New Zealand, 

 Australia, the Malayan and Fiji islands, New Caledonia, and New 

 Hebrides, and generally known by the name of Dammaka (Eumphius) ; 

 but Mr. Bentham and Sir J. D. Hooker, Gen. Plant., iii., par. 1, 

 point out that this name, for various reasons, cannot be retained, and 

 that Salisbury's name, Agaithis, should be accepted. There are eight 

 or ten described species, and probably more that have, up to the 

 present time, escaped the notice of botanists ; they are distinguished 

 by their opposite or alternate broad leathery leaves with parallel veins, 

 dioecious flowers, ovoid or ' subglobose cones with closely imbricated 

 scales, each bearing one seed. The best known is Agathis australis, 

 the Kauri Pine of New Zealand, which forms extensive forests in 

 the northern island, and is one of the most valuable timber trees 

 in the colony. 



