CHAP. CV. 



corylVceje. casta^nea, 



1983 



Spec. Char., S^c. Leaves ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, somewhat rhomboid, 

 pointed ; serrated, coriaceous, 

 shining, glabrous ; wedge- 

 shaped, and oblique at the base, 

 on very short footstalks. Peri- 

 anth of the male temate, cam- 

 pan ulate, 4— 5-lobed. Anthers 

 8—10. Cupules involucriform, 

 smooth, 4-partite ; segments al- 

 most linear, laciniate. Ovaries 

 laterally exserted, 3-sided ; an- 

 gles marginate. {Mirb.) A tall 

 tree, a native of Chili, where it 

 was found, along with F. ob- 

 llqua, by the botanist after 

 whom it has been named. It 

 is known in Chili by the name 

 of Coigue, and furnishes excel- 

 lent wood for the purposes of 

 construction. Young branches 

 downy, glutinous. Leaves al- 

 ternate, from 5 to 10 lines long, 

 and from 3 to 5 lines broad, on 

 the flowering branches, and 

 about double the size on the ste- 

 rile branches. Stipules oval, de- 

 uiuous, about the length of the petiole. Fruit unknown. {Mdm. 



Mus. 



1 10. F. du'dia Mirb. The dubious Beech. 



Identification. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26. 



Engravings. Mem. Mus., 14. t. 26. ; and our fig. 1932. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves ovate, bluntish, doubly serrate, coriaceous, shining, glabrous ; round at the 

 base, on short footstalks. Perianth of the male solitary, turbinate, 5 — 7-lobed. Anthers 10 — 16. 

 {Mirb.) It is extremely probable that the F. dubia is nothing more than a variety of F. Aetuloiclcs. 

 The branches are smoother and more elongated; the leaves larger, oval, and not elliptic; and den. 

 tate, not crenulate ; all which differences maybe the result of a more vigorous growth. The dried 

 specimen in other respects perfectly resembles that of F. Setuloldes ; and Commerson, who gathered 

 it at the Straits of Magellan, had placed it along with that species, under the name ot\Betula 

 antarctica. As Mirbel had not seen the female flower, he thought it better not to confound it 

 with F. ietulb'ldes. 



Genus III. 



lit 



CASTA V NEA Tourn. The Chestnut. Lin. Syst. MonceVia Polyandria. 



Identification. Tourn., 352. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 460. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 65. 



Synonymcs. .Fhgus Lin. and others ; Chataignier, Fr. ; Kastanie, Ger. ; Castagno, Ital. ; Castano, 



Span.; Castanheiro, Port. ; Castanietree, Sivcd. and Dan. ; Keschton, Russ. 

 Derivation. From Castanea, a town in Thessaly, or from another town of that name in Pontus. 



Description y Sfc. Deciduous trees, with nearly the same geographical dis- 

 tribution as the oak, but more tender. There is only one European species, 

 which is chiefly valuable as a fruit tree, and as coppice-wood; the timber of 

 full-grown trees being brittle, and of short duration. The foliage is large and 

 ornamental,* and, in this and its fruit, it bears a close analogy to the beech. 

 The botanical difference between the two genera has been noticed in p. 1949. 

 2: 1. C. ve'sca Gcertn. The eatable, sweet, or Spanish, Chestnut. 



Identification. Gsertn. Sem., 1. p. 181. ; Michx. Amer., 2. p. 193. ; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 460. ; Lindl. 

 Synop., p. 171. 



Synonymes. Fagus Castanea Lin. Hort. Cliff"., 447., Hort. Ups., 287., Roy. Lugdb., 79., Mat. 

 Med., 203., Dalib. Paris., 294., Gron. Virg., 150., Du Roi Harbk., 1. p. 270., Kniph. Cent., 5. 

 No. 31., R.'gn. Rot.; Castanea sativa Mill. Diet., No. 1., Scop. Cam., No. 1187., Hall. Helv., 

 No. 1623., Rlackw., t. 330., Houtt. Lin. Pfl., 2. p. 328. ; C. vulgaris Lam. Encyc, 1. p. 708, 

 N. Du Ham., 3. p. 66., Eng. Rot., t. 886., Eng. Fl., 4. p. 151., Hook. Br. FL, ed. 3., p. 411 , 

 Mackay Fl. Hibern., p. 251. 



Derivation. The term Sweet Chestnut is applied with reference to the fruit, in contradistinction to 

 the fruit of the horsecliestnut, which is bitter. It is called the Spanish chestnut, because the best 

 chestnuts for the table, sold in the London markets, are imported from Spain. 



Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 886. ; Blackw., t. 330. ; Hunt. Evel., 1. p. 152. ; N. Du Ham., 3. 1. 19. ; and 

 the plates of this tree in our last Volume. 



Spec. Char., Sec. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, mucronately serrated j 

 glabrous on each side. {Willd.) A stately tree, rivalling the oak in size 

 and longevity ; but, in regard to its timber, comparatively worthless. A 

 native of Asia Minor; but cultivated in the temperate parts of Europe 

 from time immemorial. 



6 N 



