June 27, 1903. 
THE GARDEN ING WORLD. 
559 
Notice of Book. 
ts are given 
CONIFERS AT KEW.* 
The first edition of the “ Hand-List of Conifers,” printed in 
1896 liavin”' been out of print for some time, necessitated the 
second edition, just to hand. It has been revised and enlarged 
l,y the addition of the numerous species and varieties which 
have found their way to Kew during the period that has elapsed 
since 1896. The revision of the nomenclature and classifica¬ 
tion has been entrusted to Dr. Masters,, who has: been study¬ 
ing Conifers for many years past. The Conifers now at Kew 
include 2-46 species and 451 varieties, or an aggregate in round 
figures of 700. 
In the pieface to the second edition measurements 
of exceptional specimens, several of which exceed 
the records of the respective species given in the 
report of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Conifer 
Conference. These include Ginkgo' bilo-ba, Larix 
europaea, Pinus Coulteri, P. lanrbertiana, P. Laricio 
and several others. The Ginkgo or Maidenhair 
Tree is the most symmetrical specimen of its size 
we have seen, notwithstanding the fact that it 
branches into two main trunks a little above the 
I use. The European Larch was felled last year, 
being dead, and measured 105 ft. as it lay upon 
the ground, while 5 ft. or 6 ft. of the top had 
previously been blown, down, making an aggregate 
cf 110 ft. This must surely be a record for the 
Larch, and particularly for the sandy soil of Kew. 
The stately Pinus Laricio, near the main entrance 
to the Gardens, measures 86 ft., and is the finest 
Conifer at the 1 present day. A figure of P. Laricio 
is given in the second edition of “ Loudon’s Ar¬ 
boretum et Fruticetum Britanicum,” dated 1844. 
This is described as. a “ full-grown tree at Kew, 
85 ft. high.” If this is. the same individual as 
above mentioned, it was then a stately tree, taper¬ 
ing from the base to the apex ; but it has now 
greatly increased in girth throughout its length, 
and become somewhat flattened on the top, though 
only 1 ft. has been added to the stature in fifty- 
nine j^ears, provided this was the specimen figured. 
The arrangement of the genera differs in a few 
particulars from that adopted in the “ Genera Plan- 
tarum,” the Yew tribe (Taxaceae) being maintained 
as a- distinct order. The genera Thuya and Cu- 
pressus will give cultivators a little trouble till 
they can adjust their nomenclature to this or any 
other standard. In the “ Genera Plantarum ” such 
names as Chamaecyparis, Retinospora, Thuyopsis, 
and Biota were included under Thuya, but. even 
in the first edition of the “ Hand List ” the names 
Chamaecyparis and Retinispora (often, but erro¬ 
neously, spelt Retinospora.) had been sunk in Cu- 
pressus. It was even then stated that the merging 
of Thuya, in Cupressus would have been a more 
natural arrangement, than keeping them separate. 
It is also well known that Retinispora has no claim 
to separate existence, for it merely represents 
stages* of growth of certain specie® of Thuya, Juniper us and 
Cupressus, several of the forms occasionallv occurrino- 0 n the 
same bush. 
^ The synonyms have always been, and will remain, a puzzle 
:.° horticulturists until they adopt a standard nomenclature 
like this, and elect, to drop all antiquated and erroneous names 
that have no right to recognition. The difficulty attached to, 
and inseparable from, a, study of the Conifers must be held 
accountable, for the multiplicity of names, but many species 
ilmt are* quite easily recognisable are just as encumbered with 
s ynonyms as those that are more difficult, or, maybe, juvenile 
or adult stages of certain well-known species, and which main¬ 
tain their peculiarities with greater or less persistency when 
propagated from such forms. 
One important alteration that has been made in the new 
edition is the adoption, of Thuya plicata of D. Don as the 
name of a species, instead of regarding it as a variety, as 
formerly. This is the Conifer best known under the name of 
T. gigantea, now reckoned a mere synonym. Less well-known 
svnonyms for it are T. craigiana, T. Lobbi, and T. Menziesii, 
under some of which we have grown the tree, and seen it so 
labelled in other collections. The discovery that T. plicata 
was the oldest, and therefore the correct, name was discovered 
by Dr. Masters as recently as 1897. 
Concerning some of the forms classed as varieties of T. occi- 
O 
Hydrangea hortensis rosea. (Seep. 555.) 
dentalis, it is stated that some of them may belong to T. 
plicata, while some of the varieties of the latter may yet prove 
to belong to T. occidentalis. It is evident, therefore, that we 
have not heard the last word concerning those forms which still 
remain to be definitely identified. 
The Mammoth Tree of California, presents an interesting in¬ 
stance of synonymy, as if the botanists had each been en¬ 
deavouring to honour their own particular champion. The 
adopted name is Sequoia, gigantea, the generic name being 
given in memory of a notable native chief. Others named it 
Sequoia Wellingtonia,, Taxodium washingtonianum, Washing- 
tonia californica,, and Wellingtonia gigantea ''respectively. It 
would have been interesting if the dates of these names had 
been recorded as a solution of their right of priority. 
