CHAP. XVIII. 



TlLIA^CEiE. ri'LIA. 



375 



situations they are twice that size. The flowers, which resemble 

 those of the common American species, appear in June, and they 

 vary in the same proportion as the leaves. Seeds of this variety 

 were brought to England by Catesby in 1726 ; but it does not appear 

 to have been much cultivated. There is a tree of it in the arboretum 

 at Kew, one in the London Horticultural Society's Garden, and one 

 at Messrs. Loddiges's ; and it may be found in a few of the principal 

 nurseries. In New York, the price is 50 cents a plant. 



3^ T. rt. 4? pubescens lejytophylla. The ihin-leaved pubescent American Lime 

 Tree. 



Synonymes. T. pubescens leptophylla Vent. ; T. mississippensis Desf. 



Description. This variety is described by Ventenat as having very thin leaves, with 

 only a few fine serratures. De Candolle doubts whether it may not prove a distinct 

 species. There is a plant bearing this name in the garden of the London Horticultural 

 Society, which closely resembles T. a. pubescens ; and, if this be correctly named, we 

 should' have no doubt of its being nothing more than a variety of that race. 



S T. a. 5. heterophylla. The various-leaved Ameiican Lime Tree. 



Synonymes. T. hetcroph^^Ua Vent, Dec. ; T. kVoa. Michx. ; the White Lime. 

 i^ngravings. Vent. Diss., t. 5. ; Michx. Arb., 3. t. 2. ; and our plate in Vol. IL 



Descript'mi. Petals each with a scale at the base inside. Leaves 

 ovate, downy beneath, sometimes cordate at the base, sometimes 

 obliquely or equally truncate. Fruit globose, with 5 ribs. (Doti's 

 Mill., i. p. 553.) According to Michaux, this tree rarel}^ exceeds the 

 height of 40 ft. in its native habitats ; and, according to the Nouveau 

 DiL Hamel, it does not exceed the height of 20 ft, in France, though it 

 has been introduced into that country upwards of 70 years. The 

 young branches of this variety are covered with a smooth silver-grey 

 bark ; by which, and by their thickness, rough surface, and the large 

 size of their buds, the tree is easily recognised in winter. The leaves 

 are larger than those of any other variety, either American or 

 European ; obliquely heart-shaped and pointed like those of all the 

 other American varieties ; of a dark green on the upper surface, and 

 whitish beneath ; with small reddish tufts of hairs at the intersections 

 of the principal nerves. The flowers appear, in America, in June ; 

 and, as well as the floral leaf, are larger than those of any other lime 

 tree. The petals are larger and whiter, and have an agreeable odour. 

 The seeds are round, or, rather, oval, and downy. There is a tree 

 of this variety in the London Horticultural Society's Garden, which, 

 if correctly named, will prove it, as we think, to be only a variety of 

 T. americana, more nearly approaching T, a. laxiflora than T. a, 

 pubescens. 



Geography, History, Sfc. T, a. heterophylla, or the white lime, 

 as it is called in America, is abundant in Maryland, Delaware, and 

 the western states. It does not grow, like the common species (7\ 

 americana), in elevated places, nor amidst the trees of the forests, but 

 is almost always found on the banks of rivers. It is particularly 

 observed on those of the Susquehanna, the Ohio, and the streams 

 which flow into them ; but it rarely exceeds 40 ft. in height, with a 

 trunk of from 12 in. to 18 in. in diameter. The wood is white and 

 tender, and is seldom applied to any use in the arts. It is remark- 

 able, that, although this tree was known in France in the time of Du 

 Hamel, in 1755, it should not have been introduced into England till 

 1811. We are not aware of any plants of it, except those in the 

 garden of the London Horticultural Society, which have not been 

 planted above 8 or 10 years. Like all the other American varieties, 

 it may be considered as highly ornamental, and well deserving a place 

 in collections, where the climate is not much more severe than that 

 of London, or where, if the cold is greater in winter, the heat is pro- 

 portionately greater in summer, and is sufficient to give such a degree 



