THE JAPANESE UMBRELLA TREE 221 
Scrapopitys VERTICILLATA (JAPANESE UMBRELLA 
TREE).— 
To garnish the story with here a streak 
Of Latin, and there another of Greek, 
WHITTIER, 
It would be hard to describe the sensations of any 
one who had undergone a long practical acquaintance 
with the well-known trees of our homely woodlands 
at a first sight of this extraordinary-looking tree. 
dfter a stare of wild surprise he might begin to wonder 
which of the two, man or tree, had been transported 
to another planet. 
On being told its name, and asked either to pro- 
nounce, spell, or construe it,—if his education had 
not run on classical lines and in Latin or Greek 
grooves,—I can well imagine that his eyes would open 
still wider. Like Tennyson’s ocean-shell, he might 
so regard it as yet another miracle of design to which 
learned men had given a clumsy name. What would 
be more interesting to hear is the opinion he would 
hazard as to its affinity, and among what tribe of 
trees he would place it. Probably the majority of 
votes—I am not referring to the closer student, but 
to the man in a hurry, who has either boldly to jump 
to a conclusion, pronounce it, or remain mute— 
would be cast in favour of the Pine, some sort of Pine 
—he might have ventured opinion—with thicker 
and coarser leaves. 
If it is looked at a little more closely there will be 
found a light-brown stem, growing darker as it gets 
older. At intervals along it, from 1 to 14 inchés, the 
branchlet appears to swell out into a sort of flower- 
vase shape, and ends in a crown-like summit. From 
the tips of these summits grow in whorls the fraudulent 
make-believe leaves—for things are not always what 
they seem—and these growths, although they look 
like leaves and perform the functions of leaves, are 
