QUERCUS. 



long, rigid, broadly elliptical, often nearly orbicular, very 

 much undulated at the margin, tlicir deep broad fpmous 

 teeth pointing every way ; the upper furface dark green, 

 rather glaucous, befprinkled with minute Harry hairs ; the 

 wnder denfely clotlied with white entanirled down. We 

 have feen neither Jlozuers nor fruit. Willdenow appears 

 millaken in difcarding the fynonym of Magiiol, which 

 anfvvers extremely well to ihc Liiinaean fpecimens, though 

 indeed the author fpeaks of his plant as a variety of Q. Ilex. 

 It is, neverthelefs, true that Linnaeus confounded herewith 

 a plant from Magnol's herbarium, which is not diftinft from 

 g. Ilex. 



31. Q. Ballota. Sweet-acorn Oak. Desfont. Atlant. 

 V. 2. 350. Willd. n. 24. (Ilex major; Cluf. Hift. v. i. 

 23 ?) — Leaves elliptical, coriaceous ; entire or ferratcd ; 

 very downy beneath. Bark even. Nut cyhndrical, elon- 

 gated. — Native of feveral places in the neighbourhood of 

 mount Athos, according to profeflbr Destontaines, from 

 whom we have a wild ipecimen. It flowers in May. Tiiis 

 is a large and handfome evergreen tree, whofe trunk is from 

 twenty to thirty feet high ; the luood hard, compafi, and 

 very ufeful ; tlie bark even, not corky, though full of iif- 

 fures ; branches downy. Footjlalks a quarter of an inch 

 long, downy. Leaves various in (hape, but more or lefs 

 elliptical, an inch or inch and half long ; either quite entire, 

 or ferrated with fmall fpinous teeth ; their upper furface, at 

 leaft when young, befprinkled with minute Harry hairs ; the 

 under always very white and denfely downy. Male Jlo'wers 

 in copious, long, lax, pendulous /pikes, with uiually feven 



fiamens; female on the fame tree, axillary, folitary or aggre- 

 gate. Acorns cylindrical, an inch and half or two inches 

 long, half an inch in diameter, eatable and very palatable, 

 either raw or roafled. Cup h(;mifpherical, covered with 

 numerous, obtufe, downy, clofely imbricated fcales. 



32. Q. Ilex. Common Evergreen Oak, or Holm Oak. 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 141 2. Willd. n. 25. Ait. n. 7. — Leaves 

 ovate-oblong, acute, coriaceous ; entire or ferrated ; hoary 

 beneath. Bark even. Nut ovate. The varieties are; x, 

 with lanceolate entire leaves ; Smilax Dalech ; Bauh. Hilt. 

 V. I. part 2. loi. Snber fecuudus ; Matth. Valgr. v. i. 

 188, as to the figure: /=, with lanceolate ferrated leaves; 

 Ilex; Matth. Valgr. v. i. 186. Duham. Arb. v. i. t. 123: 

 y, with rounder, lefs rigid, and more or lefs ferrated leaves ; 

 Phellodrys ; Matth. Valgr. v i. 189, as to the figure. 

 Ilex n. 3 ; Duham. Arb. v. i. t. 124. This fpecies occurs 

 in various parts of the fouth of Europe, and north of 

 Africa, and is hardy, as well as evergreen, with us, thriving 

 particularly near the fea, though of flow growth, flowering 

 in May and June. It ufually forms a large buftiy tree, but 

 occafionally rifes with a rtraight naked trunk, and round 

 head, to a great height. The worjil is hard and heavy, 

 valuable for many purpofes. The French ufe it for puUies 

 in the navy. The bark is hard and even, not ctjrky. Leaves 

 various in fliape and fize ; dark green, convex, and quite 

 fmooth, above; hoary or downy beneath; their edges either 

 revolute and entire, or irregularly notched and ferrated. 

 Footjlalks half an inch long, downy. Acorns ufually two, 

 en an axillary downy ilalk which is longer than the foot- 

 ftalk, ovate, hardly an inch long, with a fcaly downy cup. 

 They are eaten by hogs, but are very different in Ihape and 

 quality from thofe of the laft-defcribed fpecies. So many 

 varieties, or fpecies, nearly correfponding with thefe two, 

 are mentioned by authors, that it is difficult to underftand 

 them. The fubjeft requires, and well defcrves, a praftical 

 inveltigation. Lamarck, under the article Chene, in his 

 diftionary, mentions feveral kinds, which he knew but im- 

 perfeftly, and which we have no means of elucidating further. 



fo that we dare not adopt, or attempt to reduce them to 

 order. 



33. Q. Suber. Cork Tree. Linn. Sp. PI. 1413. 

 Wilid. 11. 26. Ait. u. 8. Hunter's Evel. Sylv. 362, with 

 a plate. (Suber; Camer. Epit. 115. S. primus; Matth. 

 Valgr. V, I. 187. S. latitolium, perpeluo vireiia ; Duham. 

 Arb. V. 2. 291. t. 80. S. latifoliurn ; Ger. Em. 1347, the 

 middle figure only.) — Leaves ovate-oblong, bhintilh, coria- 

 ceous ; entire or fharply lerrated ; downy beneath. Bark 

 cracked, fungous. — Native of the louth of Europe, and 

 north of Africa. Duhamel fays it can hardly bear the cli- 

 mate of the north of France. It lives however in our 

 Eughfh gardens, where it has been kept more than a cen- 

 tury. The bark is remarkable for a thick fpongy coat, 

 yielding the well-known fubflance called cork. The leaves 

 much refemble the broad variety of Q_. Ilex, nor do the 

 acorns greatly differ from thofe of that tree. We h»ve not 

 been able to alcertain what autliors mean by th ir Suber 

 angujifolium non ferratum, the figure of which, Matth. Valgr. 

 V. 1. 188. Duham. Arb. v. 2. t. 8l, we have cited as our 

 firlt variety of Ilex. We fliould fufpect the Suber itfelf to 

 be altogether a variety of Ilex, differing'only in the bark ; 

 and tliat tliere might be a broad and a narrow-leaved variety 

 of each ; were not the dwaif tufted Humpy habit of the 

 Cork Tree, on the fandy plains of Italy, Spain, &c. fo 

 peculiar. Yet this pofTibly may, as well as the nature of 

 the bark, be owing to the foil, for in ilrong ground the 

 cork, according to Duhamel, degenerates. Willdenow fays 

 " the leaves of Q. Suber are a little elongated at the bale, 

 running down into the footjlalk, which is not the cafe with 

 Ilex ;" but this charafter ieems fcarcely permanent. 



34. Q. coccifera. Kermes Oak. Linn. Sp. PI. 1413. 

 Willd. n. 27. Ait. n. 9. {Ilex coccifera; Camer. Epit. 

 774. I. aculeata cocciglandifera ; Garid. Aix. 245. t. 53. 

 Nillole in Mem. de I'Acad. des Sciences for 17 14. 435. 

 t. 17, 18. I. coccigera ; Ger. Em. 1342.) — Leaves ellip- 

 tic-oblong, rigid, fmooth on both fides, with fpreading, 

 briflly, fpinous teeth. Nut ovate. Calyx with fpreading 

 pointed fcales. — Native of the fouth of Europe, and the 

 Levant, flowering in the fpring. This is a bufhy evergreen 



Jbrub, celebrated for producing the kermes, a valuable article 

 of dyeing, before the introduction of cochineal, and which 

 afforded the color kermejimis, or crimfon. The kermes is an 

 infeft, of the genus Coccus, which flicks to the branches, 

 in the form of a red ball, the fize of a pea. It is now out 

 of ufe among dyers, and is only ufed by French apotheca- 

 ries. The leaves of this fhrub are, at moll, but half the 

 fize of the laft, though they vary much in magnitude as 

 well as figure. They are diftinguifhed by their rigidity, 

 fmoothnefs on both fides, and their prominent needle-hke 

 marginal prickles. The fcales of the mature calyx are alfo 

 much more elongated and prominent than in Ilex or Suber, 

 and of an angular awl-fltaped figure. 



35. Q. Pfeudo-coccifera. Batlard Kermes Oak. Des- 

 font. Atlant. V. 2. 349. Willd. n. 28. — Leaves eUiptic- 

 oblong, rigid, fmooth on both fides, with fpinous ferra- 

 tures. Nut ovate. Calyx with flat, (lightly fpreading, 



fcales Obferved by Desfontaines at Algiers and about 



mount Athos. At Tunis it is called the " meal-bearing 

 oak," probably from the ufe of the acorns as food. This 

 is a tree, from fifteen to twenty feet high, with round 

 branches, clothed with rulty down when young. The leaves 

 are twice or thrice as large as thofe of Q. coccifera, thicker 

 and lefs wavy, with much fmaller and fhorter fpinous ferra- 

 tures, rather than teeth. Calyx clothed with numerous, 

 flat, fhort, flightly fpreading fcales. Nut ovate, pointed. 

 Willdenow, not having feen a fpecimen, has mifunderltood 



the 



