248 
ON  THE  CALIFORNIA  NUTMEG. 
the  delicate  aromatic  odor  of  the  oriental  spice,  for  it  has  the 
strong  terebinthine  character  of  the  Coniferag.  Neither  is  the 
fleshy  covering  of  any  known  use.  It  is  more  probable  that,  like 
the  fleshy  cup-a-berry  of  the  yew,  it  is  of  a  poisonous  nature. 
Still  the  discovery  of  this  tree  is  interesting  to  the  botanist  and  to 
the  horticulturist.  But  two  other  species  are  known  besides.  One 
of  them  (T.  nucifera  Sieb.  and  Zucc.)  is  a  native  of  Japan,  and 
the  other  has  only  been  found  hitherto  in  Middle  Florida,  in  very 
confined  stations.  The  latter  is  erroneously  stated  by  Zuccarini 
to  have  a  seed  as  large  as  a  walnut,  by  which  he  undoubtedly 
means  the  Juglans  regia,  or  Madeira-nut,  as  it  is  called  in  the 
United  States. 
As  an  ornamental  tree,  the  California  nutmeg  deserves  to  be 
extensively  cultivated.  It  must  be  hardy,  as  it  grows  on  the 
mountains,  where  the  winter  is  very  severe. 
The  enterprising  Messrs.  Parsons  and  Co.,  of  Flushing,  sent  out 
a  person  to  California  for  the  express  purpose  of  collecting  the 
ornamental  and  useful  plants  of  that  country,  and  among  other 
varieties,  he  obtained,  last  year,  some  ripe  and  fresh  seeds  of  the 
Californian  nutmeg.  These  germinated  freely,  and,  when  I  saw 
the  young  plants  last  October,  they  had  a  healthy  appearance,  and 
had  attained  a  good  size.  I  have  lately  heard,  also,  that  Mr. 
Lobb,  an  English  collector,  who  has  been  exploring  California 
for  several  years  past,  has  sent  seeds  of  this  tree  to  England. 
I  close  this  notice  with  a  short  technical  description  of  the  new 
Torreya,  which  may  be  called  T.  Californica. 
T.  foliis  distichis,  brevissime  petiolatis,  cuspidatis  pungentibus 
subconcoloribus  ;  floribus  foemineis  solitariis  sessilibus  ;  semilibus 
oblongis,  disco  carnoso  clauso. 
Hab.  Upper  part  of  the  Yuba  and  Feather  Rivers,  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  California. 
Differs  from  T>  taxifolia  in  the  leaves  being  much  larger,  and 
not  glaucous  underneath,  as  well  as  being  furnished  with  a  sharper 
and  more  rigid  point.  The  seed  is  longer,  and  the  fleshy  covering 
much  thicker. 
96  St.  Mark's  Place,  February  3d,  1854. 
[iV.  Y.  Jour,  of  Pharm.j  Feb.,  1854. 
