NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



170 



pp. 300-314 ; 11 figs.). — The writer found that scarcely two plants in a 

 bed of ninety^ six were alike when the amount of manure applied was 

 excessive. The seed used was obtained from a seed firm, Some seedless 

 •fruits were obtained, — F. J, C< 



Trachycarpus. By C. D'Ancona (Bull. B. Soc. Tosc. Ort., March- 

 April, p. 102 ; 1906). — The botanist Beccari lately published a very 

 accurate study of the species of this genus, of which there are three, viz. : 

 T. excelsa, H. Wendl., T. Takil, Becc, and T. Martiana, H. Wendl. All 

 are natives of Eastern Extra-tropical Asia, and of Central, Eastern, and 

 Western Himalayas, in distinct localities ; this is enough to show that 

 they can live in the open in Southern and Central Italy. 



T. excelsa. — This is the most commonly grown one in Europe and the 

 hardiest of all, even more so than Chamaerops humilis. It is very vari- 

 able, Beccari regarded T. Fortimei as a synonym of T. excelsa, and not, 

 as some have supposed, a distinct species. A description and sketches of 

 the flowers are given. The fibres attached to the leaf-bases are used in 

 the manufacture of many objects in China. In Italy it flowers in April 

 and May, and the fruits mature in the following March. The fruits are 

 at first yellowish, when mature blackish-violet, like dark purple grapes, 

 and pruinose, globose-reniform across, 12-13 mill, broad, 9 mill. long. 

 The seeds are the same shape as the fruit. 



T. Takil, Becc, sp. n. — This species is called by Duthie in the 

 " Gardeners' Chronicle " of April 10, 1886, p. 457, Chamaerops Martiana. 

 The stem of the young plant grows obliquely at first. It begins to flower 

 when it is about 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) high. It only occurs in the 

 Western Himalayas on Mount Takil in Kumaon about 2,000 to 2,380 metres 

 (6,600 to 7,700 ieet) above the level of the sea ; Sir J. Hooker reports it 

 as being annually covered with snow. According to Gamble, it prefers 

 the cool, narrow valleys, with a north-west aspect. According to Beccari, 

 it is closely allied to T. excelsa, which it represents in the Western 

 Himalayas, but it is hardier. Duthie reports it as growing to a greater 

 height than T. excelsa. Trees planted in the neighbourhood of Florence 

 resisted well the severe winters there ; they appear to dislike heat more 

 than cold. The fibrous covering of the leaf-bases is not so dense as in 

 T. excelsa ; the crown of leaves is more diffuse, graceful, and elegant. 

 A sketch of the apical portion of the trunk is given, also of the flowers and 

 fruit. 



T. Martiana. — It grows in Central and Eastern Himalayas, in Assam, 

 Northern Burma, and it is very abundant in Nepaul, at Bunipa, at a 

 height of 1,500 metres above the sea, and fairly frequent in the hills of 

 Khasia, in Assam, at from 1,000 to 1,500 metres (3,300 to 4,900 feet). 

 Synonyms of this plant are : T. khasiana, Wend., Chamaerops Martiana, 

 Wall., G. khasiana, Griff., C. Griffithii, Verl., and G. tomentosa, Morr. 

 The first mention of this palm was by Wallich in his " Plantae Asiaticae 

 Rariores," under the name of Chamaerops Martiana. The plant grown 

 in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, under the name of T. Griffithii is 

 the same as this species, according to Beccari. It was figured in the 

 "Revue Horticole " of 1879, p. 212, fig. 43. It was about 6 metres 

 (20 feet) high and had flowered twice, producing female flowers, and was 



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