HARDY ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. 



327 



Zenobia speciosa (Andromeda spcciosa). — A charming 

 ericaceous plant 3 to 4 feet high, with oval leaves. The 

 flowers are white and drooping, produced in summer. 

 The variety pulverulenta is a superior form with white 

 glaucous leaves. North America, 1800. 



II. Hardy Conifers. 



The Conifers (or cone -bearers) form a large 

 and important family of trees and shrubs which 

 are found most abundantly in the temperate 

 regions of the globe, although in Great Britain 

 there are only three species truly indigenous — 

 the Yew, the Scotch Pine, and the Juniper. 

 The chief botanical characters that distinguish 

 the Conifers from the trees and shrubs dealt 

 with in the preceding pages are the naked ovules 

 and seeds; i.e. the ovule is not produced in an 

 ovary, nor does the seed ever become surrounded 

 by any fruit-like covering. Whilst the Conifers 

 include a few deciduous species, the prevailing 

 type is evergreen, and the wood and leaves are 

 more or less resinous. In contour and in foliage 

 they are so distinct that they are as a rule 

 readily recognized. The usual outline of the 

 trees is conical, and the leaves of the species 

 that are hardy in Britain are, with one or two 

 exceptions, long in proportion to their width, 

 becoming needle-like in many instances. 



Although many of the European and some of 

 the East -American Conifers had already been 

 for many years in cultivation, the greatest im- 

 petus given to the formation of pin eta in this 

 country was directly the result of the travels 

 of David Douglas in Western North America, 

 on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society, 

 between 1823 and 1833. During that decade 

 such Pines as ponderosa, Coulteri, Lambertiana, 

 insignis; Silver Firs like Abies nobilis and A. 

 amabilis; Picea sitchensis, the Douglas Fir, &c, 

 were all added to British collections. The in- 

 troductions by Douglas were followed by those 

 of Hartweg, Jeffrey, and William Lobb from 

 America, and later by those of Fortune, J. G. 

 Yeitch, and Maries from China and Japan. 



A curious matter in connection with Coni- 

 fers (more especially those of the Cypress tribe) 

 is the propensity of some species to assume 

 different guises both in foliage and in habit. 

 Between the seedling and the adult states the 

 leaves of most Conifers pass through transitory 

 forms, but in the cases here alluded to, the 

 same species may be represented by trees of 

 large size, and yet of totally different aspect. 

 This is due to the juvenile or other normally 

 transitory forms of growth being retained. A 

 marked example is furnished by Cryptomeria 



,s; this tree could scarcely be more distinct 

 than it is from C. japonica, yet it is simply a 

 form of that species " in which the shape of the 

 primordial leaves is retained" (Masters). The 

 Retinosporas again are all merely stages of 

 growth of certain species of Thuja and Cupres- 

 sus. " On the self-same bush have been found 

 specimens of two and three different kinds of 

 Retinospora, and we see others reverting to 

 the adult form and bearing cones peculiar to 

 it " (Masters). 



The nomenclature of Conifers has for long 

 been extremely involved and uncertain, and in 

 consequence of this is heavily weighted with 

 synonyms. The generic term Abies has by 

 some authorities been made to apply only to 

 the Spruce Firs, Picea referring to the Silver 

 Firs; other authorities have simply reversed this 

 arrangement; whilst Others again have united 

 the two, as well as Tsuga and Pseudotsuga, 

 under Abies. In the following lists (with the 

 exception of Retinospora — a name retained for 

 purely garden convenience) the names, both 

 generic and specific, are those adopted by Dr. 

 Masters, whose contributions to the Conifer 

 Conference of 1891 at Chiswick (see vol. xiv. 

 of the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society) 

 form the latest authoritative arrangement of 

 the order. 



Conifers generally succeed best in a deep, 

 rich, well-drained soil. Few attain to perfection 

 on a hot, sandy ground, although the Pines will 

 thrive well on gravelly soil. Picea sitchensis, 

 Cupressus thyoides, Abies balsamea, Taxodium di- 

 stichum are especially moisture-loving species. 

 In stature, habit, colour of foliage, &c, Coni- 

 fers display so much variety that they may 

 be used for nearly all purposes, from the plant- 

 ing of parks and woodlands to the furnishing 

 of the rockery. Amongst the numerous species 

 adapted for large parks and pleasure-grounds, 

 the following are of especial value : Pseudotsuga 

 Douglasi, Pinus Laricio, and its varieties (includ- 

 ing the Austrian Pine), P. excelsa, P. Strobus, P. 

 Cembra, P. ponderosa, Scotch Pine, Cedar of 

 Lebanon, Cedrus atlantica, Thuja gigantea, the 

 common Larch, Spruce, and Silver Fir, Picea 

 orientalis, Abies concolor, A. grandis, A. Pinsapo, 

 A. magnifica, A. nobilis, A. JVordmanniana, Cu- 

 pressus Latvsoniana, C. nootkatensis, Tsuga Mer- 

 tensiana, Libocedrus decurrens, Araucaria imbri- 

 cata, the common Yew. In sheltered localities, 

 Sequoia gigantea, S. sempervirens, Cupressus macro- 

 carpa, and Cedrus Deodara may be planted. 



For smaller areas and lawns there is abundant 

 choice; besides the smaller of those just men- 



