A. VEITCHII AND AMABILIS gi 
A. VeIrcui1.—A high-altitude variety, and the 
smallest of Japanese Silver Firs. Among Conifer 
collectors this tree seems to have attracted a good deal 
of attention of late. Its iridescent vivid white beneath 
the leaves, which at Kew seems to have been dulled 
by town atmosphere, makes it a general favourite. 
Unlike the A. Mariesii it has not escaped the attention 
of many patrons, and it takes its life among us with 
vitalised zest. Its characteristics are its smooth 
bark and twigs, with scattered pubescence. “On the 
branchlets, with the pubescence upon them, the 
colour of the shoots appears to be of perhaps a darker 
tint than they really are, and the little white dots on 
the twigs when the leaf is pulled off show out in great 
contrast to the dark-looking background, like ivory 
specks inset on ebony. Its soft leaves, pointing 
forward but more upright than those of the A. 
Nordmanniana, end in a square-shaped truncate 
apex. 
A. AMABILIS.—We have kept our reference to the 
Amabilis to the last mentioned of Group III, since, 
and quite wrongly, it always seems to have been 
sailing in company with, and under the same flag 
as, the two representatives of Group IV, A. Nobilis 
and A. Magnifica. 
Sometimes the Amabilis has been sent out under 
false names and the trees have turned out to be 
Nobilis or Magnifica, to which perhaps it may bear 
a superficial similitude. Any doubt can soon be put 
to rest by an examination of the position of the 
median leaves. 
In the Amabilis the leaves rise up direct from the 
stem. 
In the A. Nobilis and Magnifica they appear to 
lean along the stem for the first part of their length, 
or, to describe it more correctly, they are appressed 
