332 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



usually a height of about 20 feet. In its most attractive form it has 

 a strong resemblance to a small Lombardy Poplar, though the growth 

 is often more spreading. The bark on the young shoots and the foot- 

 stalks of the leaves is reddish, as also are the leaves when first produced. 

 The " keys " are borne in drooping racemes ; the wings are small and 

 widely spreading. 



A very pretty form of Acer cratceg [folium, to which the varietal name 

 Vcitchii has been given, has leaves which resemble the type in shape but 

 have a pretty white and rose variegation. The variegation takes the form 

 of irregular blotches, and differs in extent on different leaves, but is 

 usually more pronounced on the young growths. As a companion to the 

 type species it is interesting. 



Acer diabolicum, also known in gardens as Acer pulchrum, is a very 

 large-leaved Maple, introduced to cultivation in 1881 through the late 

 Charles Maries, and is not unlike the Sycamore. It has the largest leaves 

 of all the Japanese species, and in this respect rivals Acer macropliyllum 

 of California. As a tree for the park or woodland, as well as for the 

 garden, it is suitable. 



The leaves are 5-lobed, and the subdivisions are again deeply and 

 coarsely serrate. The " keys " are produced in racemes, following 

 yellowish flowers ; the wings are drooping and the fruit hairy. Two 

 hornlike processes, the remains of the stigmas, project from the centre of 

 the fruit, and are supposed to have suggested the specific name. 



The young wood and leaf- stalks are hairy, and tufts of hairs occupy 

 the axils of the principal veins on the under surface of the leaf. 



Another fine species which was also one of Maries's introductions is 

 Acer distylum, a simple undivided-leaved species of distinct appearance, 

 which is perfectly hardy in this country. A good specimen now growing 

 at Coombe Wood has reached a height of 18 feet, with a head of branches 

 21 feet in diameter. (Fig. 76.) 



The leaves are heart-shaped in outline, 5^ inches long by 4J inches 

 broad, deep, rich, shining green on the upper surface, paler beneath, with 

 a serrate margin and sharp-pointed apex. 



The erect racemes of " keys," which are freely produced on the plant 

 at Coombe Wood, are a conspicuous feature of the tree during summer ; 

 their pale green colour showing strongly against the dark green of the 

 leaves. 



Acer Ginnala, a native of Amurland, was formerly considered a variety 

 of A. tataricum, but is now accorded specific rank. 



The tree is of small size, graceful in habit, and the leaves, triangular 

 in outline, are prettily cut and lobed, and assume in autumn the most 

 brilliant red tint. On this account alone it deserves a place in every 

 collection. A form with smaller leaves than the type, known as Semenovii, 

 is slender, and very graceful. 



Acer japonicum, the type species, is a beautiful Japanese tree which 

 attains in its native country a height of 20 feet. The leaves are of a 

 light green tint in early spring, deepening as they mature to a deeper 

 shade. The flowers appear in May and are of a deep purplish-red colour, 

 contrasting in an admirable manner with the pale hue of the young 

 leaves. 



