344 



TREES AND SHRUBS 



Name. 



M. turbinata 



Country or 



Origin and 



Natural Order. 



Japan 



Colour 



AND 



Season. 



Yellowish 

 white 



Amelanchier 



*A. alnifolia 



Rosacese 



North-West 

 America 



White ; 

 Spring 



General Remarks. 



In habit, and in the form, 

 venation, and colouring of the 

 leaves, the Japanese horse 

 chestnut resembles the horse 

 chestnut of our gardens, the 

 Grecian ^sculus Hippocas- 

 tanum, and at first sight it 

 might easily be mistaken for 

 that tree, but the thyrsus 

 of flowers of the Japanese 

 species, which is lo or 12 

 inches long, and only zj to 

 3 inches broad, is more 

 slender ; the flowers are 

 smaller, and pale yellow, 

 with short, nearly equal, 

 petals, ciliate on the mar- 

 gins ; and the fruit is that of 

 the Pavias, being smooth, 

 and showing no trace 01 the 

 prickles which distinguish the 

 true horse chestnuts. The 

 Japanese horse chestnut 

 reaches Southern Yezo, find- 

 ing its most northern home 

 near Mororan, on the shores 

 of Volcano Bay, at the level 

 of the ocean ; it is gene- 

 rally distributed through the 

 movmtainous parts of the 

 three southern islands, some- 

 times ascending in the south 

 to an elevation of 4000 or 

 5000 feet. There seems no 

 reason why this tree, which 

 has already produced fruit in 

 France, should not flourish in 

 our northern states, where, 

 as well as in Europe, it is still 

 little known. In Northern 

 Japan the fruits are exposed 

 for sale in the shops, although 

 they are probably used only 

 as playthings for the chil- 

 dren." 



A charming family of spring- 

 flowering trees, graceful in 

 growth, and of moderate sta- 

 ture. There are four species, 

 but dozens of names in cata- 

 logues ; in fact, the genus is 

 much mixed up in many 

 books and lists. 



This is usually about 8 feet high ; 

 it is very beautiful with its 

 wealth of white flowers in 

 compact clusters or racemes, 

 followed by purple berries. 

 In the Kew "Arboretum" 

 Hand-list no less than ten 

 synonyms are given. 



