Page images
PDF
EPUB

Engravings. Pall. Ross., 1, t. 4.; N. Du Ham., 1. t. 89.; Bot. Reg., t. 1156.; our fig. 1203., and the plate in our last Volume."

1203

Spec. Char., &c. A tree, growing to the height of from 15 ft. to 20 ft. Leaves lanceolate, hoary all over, as are the shoots of the current year, with stars of hairs of a hoary colour. Branches brown and smooth, more or less spiny. Leaves 2-3 in. long; upon the upper surface whitish green, and upon the under one very hoary. Flowers 2 or 3 together, axillary, upon short peduncles, fragrant; bisexual flower 4-cleft, interior of a pale yellow; male ones 5 or more cleft, interior of a golden yellow. Both are furnished on the exterior with stars of hairs, like the under surface of the leaves. Fruit of a red-brown colour, something like a small date. A native of the south of Europe, in Bohemia, France, Spain, the Levant, Tartary, and various parts of Asiatic Russia; flowering in May, and ripening its fruit in August. It was introduced in 1633, and is frequent in collections. The silvery whiteness of the foliage of this tree renders it a most conspicuous object in plantations; and hence, in any view where it is wished to attract the eye to a particular point, it may be usefully employed. For example, suppose a villa surrounded by grounds perfectly flat, with a boundary strip of plantation, or shrubbery, in the middle distance, a monotonous third distance, in which there is no object of interest but the spire of a church, and that scarcely perceptible over the tops of the trees of the plantation: plant one or two trees of elæagnus in that part of the plantation over which the eye sees the spire, and they will, by the light colour of their foliage, attract the eye in that direction. This tree, which is called by the Portuguese the tree of Paradise, is also remarkable for the fragrance of its blossoms, which are produced in great abundance in May, and perfume the air for a considerable distance around. For this reason it is a most desirable tree for a lawn or shrubbery. There are good specimens in the Horticultural Society's Garden; but the finest trees that we have seen, were, in 1815, in the grounds of Malmaison, near Paris, where they were nearly 30 ft. high, and with heads nearly as much in diameter. In the Levant, the fruit of the cultivated varieties, E. h. orientális and dactylifórmis, is made into preserves, and also dried like pistachia nuts. The plant requires a sheltered situation, and, to attain any size, must be planted in a good soil. Price of plants in the London nurseries, 2s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller 1 frane 50 cents; and at New York, 1 dollar. Varieties. Bieberstein, in his Fl. Taur. Cauc., i. p. 112, 113., as quoted in Rom. et Schult. Syst. and Bot. Reg., has comprehended under one species several forms, some of which are treated of as specifically distinct by Linnæus and other botanists. He gives E. hortensis as the name of the species, which he considers to exist under the four following forms:

[graphic]

E. h. 1 angustifolia Bieb., E. angustifolia L.-Leaves lanceolate, shining. Fruit insipid. This is the most common sort in British gardens. There is a tree of it in the Horticultural Society's Garden, 20 ft. high; and one at Kew, 8 ft. high.

E. h. 2 dactyliformis.-Leaves lanceolate, shining. Fruit date-shaped, eatable.

E. h. 3 orientalis, E. orientàlis L., Pall. Fl. Ross., i. t. 5., Gmel. It. Ill., t. 4.-Branches not spiny. Fruit date-shaped, eatable; almost as large as that of a jujube, and used in the dessert in Persia, where it is called zinzeyd. The flowers are more fragrant than those of E. h. angustifolia. (Lindl. in Bot. Reg., t. 1156., and in Nat. Syst. Bot., p. 194.) There are plants of this variety in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and there is one in the Chelsea Botanic Garden.

* E. h. 4 spinosa; E. spinòsa L.- Branches spiny. Leaves lanceolate. Fruit insipid.

2. E. ARGENTEA Ph. The silvery-leaved Elæagnus, or Wild Olive Tree. Identification. Pursh FL. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 114.; Nutt. Gen. Amer., 1. p. 97.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Synonyme. Missouri Silver Tree, U. S. of N. Amer.

Engraving. Our fig. 1204.

Spec. Char., &c. A shrub, from 8 ft. to 12 ft. high, not spiny. Leaves waved, oval-oblong, rather acute, glabrous on both surfaces, and covered with silvery scales. Flowers aggregate, nodding. Sexes apparently dicecious. Fruit roundish-ovate, of about the size of a small cherry, cartilaginous, covered with silvery scales, having 8 grooves; the flesh dry, farinaceous, eatable; the nucule subcylindric, its exterior part consisting of a tenacious woolly integument. A native of Hudson's Bay, and found on the

[graphic]

argillaceous broken banks of the Missouri, near Fort Mandan; flowering in Julyand August. (Nutt.) It was introduced in 1813. There are plants in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges. According to Pursh, Shepherdia argentea Nutt. resembles the Elæágnus argentea Pursh so much, without the fruit, that, in this state, one might easily be mistaken for the other. In the Garden of the London Horticultural Society, the shrub or low tree bearing this name is very distinct from any species of Elæágnus; but it differs from the species of that genus, in having opposite leaves and branches. Whether it is the plant meant to be described by Pursh, we are unable to determine; it is certainly not the E. argéntea figured in Watson's Dendrologia, which appears to be E.orientàlis, the flowers being produced on the current year's wood. The plant which is in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and which may be considered provisionally as E. argentea, is one of very great neatness and beauty; and well deserving

a place in every collection, especially when trained as in our figure, so as to resemble a small tree. The plant appears nearly allied to Shepherdia canadénsis, and we have no doubt it will ultimately be referred to that genus. Possibly, indeed, it may be only a modification of S. canadénsis; for it is not more different from it than the woolly-leaved varieties of the common pear in a wild state, such as Pýrus commùnis salicifòlia, are from the greenleaved varieties, such, for example, as those which are found indigenous in most parts of England, or are grown for stocks in British nurseries.

App. i. Half-hardy Species of Elæágnus.

E. conférta Roxburgh, Burm. Zeyl., t. 39. f. 1., according to Don's Prod. Fl. Nep., the grouped-flowered elæagnus, is a large, branched shrub, and, according to Roxburgh, a climbing one. Leaves oval-oblong, acuminate, 3-4 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, silvery beneath. Fruit oblong, succulent, eatable. A native of Nepal, where it flowers in November, and where the fruit is eaten by the inhabitants. (Don's Prod. Fl. Nep.; Lindl. Nat. Syst. of Bot.) This species is stated to have been introduced in 1825; but we have not seen it.

E. arborea Roxb., Don Prod. Fl. Nep., p. 67., is a large tree, with spiny branchlets, and oval-oblong leaves, a native of Nepal, at Nahrinhetty, where it flowers in November, and produces an edible fruit. It was introduced in 1819.

E. latifolia L., Bur. Zey., 39. t. 2., is a native of the East Indies, where it forms an evergreen shrub, 4 ft. or 5 ft. high. There are plants at Messrs. Loddiges, which are preserved through the winter in cold-pits; whence we infer that, like the preceding sorts, it would stand against a conservative wall.

E. salicifolia? D.Don, (fig. 1205) is a species apparently very distinct, and tolerably hardy, of which we have only seen one plant about 3 ft. high, in the arboretum at Kew. It promises to be a most valuable addition to our nearly hardy shrubs. bears in foliage a close resemblance to Shepherdia canadénsis.

[graphic]

It

GENUS II.

HIPPO'PHAE L.

THE HIPPOPHAE, SEA BUCKTHORN, or SALLOWTHORN.
Lin. Syst. Dice'cia Tetrandria.

Identification. Lin. Gen., 517., in part: the H. canadensis L. is now included in the genus Shephérdia Nutt.

Synonymes. Rhamnöldes Tourn. Cor. 53.; Argoussier, Fr.; Haffdorn, or Sanddorn, Ger.; Espino amarillo, Span.

Derivation. Hippophaes, or Hippophues, was the name of a shrub mentioned by Theophrastus and Dioscorides; and which is supposed to be the same as the hippophyes of Pliny. The derivation is supposed to be from hippos, a horse, and phao, to brighten; and, as according to the Nouveau Du Hamel the plant was employed by the Greeks as a medicine for horses, it may have been given to them to make their coats sleek and shining, and have thus procured its name. Description, &c. Large shrubs or trees; natives of Europe and Asia; ornamental in British gardens, on account of their grey silky foliage, and of their berries.

1. H. RHAMNÖI'DES L. The Buckthorn-like Hippophae, Sea Buckthorn, or Sallowthorn.

Identification. Lin. Sp. Pl., 1452.; Smith Engl. Flora, 4. p. 238.; Eng. Bot., t. 425.

Synonymes. Rhamnoides florífera sálicis folio Tourn. Cor., 53.; Rhamnoides fructifera Raii Syn. 445.; Argoussier faux Nerprun, Fr.; Weidenblättriger Sanddorn, Ger. ; in the Alps of Switzerland it is called Arve, or Saule épineux.

Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 425.; Fl. Dan., t. 265.; N. Du Ham., 6. t. 80.; Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. t. 68. ; and our fig. 1206.

Spec. Char., &c. Branches each ending in a spine. Leaves linear-lanceolate, mostly bluntish, dark green, and minutely dotted, not scaly on the upper side; silvery as well as scaly on the under one. (Smith.) A low tree, or large shrub; a native of many parts of Europe, on sandy sea coasts. Found in England, in various places on the east and south-east coast, but not in Scotland; flowering in May, and producing bright orange-coloured berries,

which are ripe in September, and remain on the tree as long as the leaves, and frequently till the following spring.

Statistics. In the environs of London, the largest trees are those at Syon, one of which is 33 ft. high, with a trunk 11 in. in diameter, and a fine round head 17 ft. in diameter. At Kew, a male plant, near the palace, is 25 ft. high. In Oxfordshire, at Oxford, in the Botanic Garden, 10 years planted, it is 15 ft. high. In Rutlandshire, at Belvoir Castle, 18 years planted, it is 15 ft. high. In Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 12 years planted, it is 12 ft. high. In Yorkshire, in the Hull Botanic Garden, 10 years planted, it is 12 ft high. In Scotland, in Banffshire, at Huntley Lodge, 12 years planted, it is 20 ft high. In Argyllshire, at Toward Castle, 13 years planted, it is 14 ft. high. In Sutherlandshire, at Dunrobin Castle, 13 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In Ireland, in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, Dublin, 30 years planted, it is 12 ft. high; at Cypress Grove, Dublin, it is 15 ft. high. In the King's County, at Charleville Forest, 10 years planted, it is 15 ft. high. In Galway, at Coole, it is 28 ft. high. In Louth, at Oriel Temple, 25 years planted, it is 19 ft. high. In Sligo, at Makree Castle, 10 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In France, near Paris, at Sceaux, 10 years planted, it is 15 ft. high; in the Botanic Garden at Avranches, 10 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. In Germany, in Hanover, at Harbke, 6 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In Saxony, at Worlitz, 46 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Bavaria, at Munich, in the Botanic Garden, 24 years planted, it is 18 ft. high. In Austria, near Vienna, at Brück on the Leytha, 40 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. In Prussia, near Berlin, at Sans Souci, 20 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. In Sweden, at Stockholm, in the Government Garden, 15 years planted, it is 7 ft. high. In Russia, in the Crimea, where, according to Descemet, it is employed, as in some parts of France, to fix drifting sands, and protect the seeds of Pinus Pináster, which are sown on them, it grows with great vigour. In Italy, at Monza, near Milan, 21 years planted, it is 12 ft. high.

Varieties.

H. R. 2 angustifolia Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; see the plate of this tree in our last Volume, which is a portrait of a tree, of the female sex, in Messrs. Loddiges's arboretum, taken in October, 1834. Its leaves are obviously more narrow than those of the species; the young branches are pendulous; and the tree is highly ornamental. There are plants, both of the male and of the female of this variety, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges. * H. R. 3 sibirica, H. sibírica Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, appears to differ very little, if at all, from the species; but, the plant not being in a healthy state, it may be more distinct than we suppose it to be. A male plant of H. Rhamnöìdes in the London Horticultural Society's arboretum, which flowered in 1835, had its flower buds smaller and earlier in blossom than those of the other; and this, perhaps, may be H. R. sibírica; the plants of species which are common to Siberia, and the west of Europe, always flowering earlier in this country than plants of the same species which are indigenous to it, or to Central Europe generally.

Description, &c. In its wild state, the sea buckthorn, sallowthorn, or willowthorn, rises, with ligneous stems, to the height of 8 ft. or 10 ft. ; but, in a state of culture, and when trained to a single stem, it grows twice or thrice that height. Its branches are numerous, irregular,

and covered with a brown bark. The flowers are small, solitary, and appear before the leaves, or coeval with them. The berries are produced on the female plant in great abundance, when the male plant stands near it, but not otherwise. There is said to be a variety with red berries which Miller saw on the sand-banks in Holland; but we have not heard of its being in cultivation. The species is found wild in England, upon cliffs above the level of the sea, from Kent to Yorkshire; and is plentiful between Yarmouth and Cromer, on the flat sandy coast. In Russia, it is found in low, wet, and sandy situations, more particularly in the subalpine districts about Caucasus; and it is abundant throughout great part of Tartary. "Hippóphae Rhamnoides grows in profusion all along the course of the

[graphic]

1206

Arve; and Deiléphila (Sphinx) hippophaes is now so plentiful, in consequence of the numbers of it collected and bred by the peasants, that a specimen costs

but 3 francs; specimens were formerly sold at 60 francs each, and one of those first discovered was sold for 200 francs." (Spence in Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. iv., for 1830, p. 148.) A shrub so common throughout Europe and Asia could not escape being known to the Greeks and Romans; but to what use they applied it is uncertain. In modern times, its leaves form the food of sheep, in poor maritime pastures, where the sheep sometimes also eat the berries. In Dauphiny, a decoction is made of these berries, which is used for the same purpose as that made from the berries of the Solànum Dulcamàra, in Wales; viz., to remove cutaneous eruptions. According to Pallas, the berries of the sea buckthorn are gratefully acid, and are much eaten by the Tartars, who make a jelly or preserve of them, and serve them up with milk or cheese, as great dainties. The fishermen of the Gulf of Bothnia prepare a rob, or jam, from them, which imparts a grateful flavour to fresh fish; and a kind of sauce is also made from them in the south of France. In some parts of France and Switzerland they are considered poisonous. J. J. Rousseau, in his Rêverie du Promeneur Solitaire, vii. Promenade, relates a curious story respecting his having made a botanical excursion in the neighbourhood of Grenoble, with a local botanist, who, though he saw him eating the fruit, which he knew, or believed to be, poisonous, was so polite, or regarded Rousseau with so much respect, that he durst not presume to warn him of his danger. In Britain, and on the Continent, the sea buckthorn is sometimes planted as hedges; and, as it endures the sea breeze, and throws up suckers freely from the roots, it is a useful plant for fixing drift sands, along with the grasses Psámma, E'lymus, Càrex, &c., and also for producing woody scenery in marine situations, where few other trees or shrubs will grow. In pleasuregrounds, when trained to a single stem, it forms a small, durable, and very interesting tree, from the dull pewter-like tinge of its foliage in summer, and the fine effect of its berries in autumn; but it must be recollected that the berries will not be produced unless both sexes are planted contiguously. As the flowers, especially those of the male plants, come out very early in the season, their buds, which are in spikes, have a conspicuous appearance during winter, and contrast finely with the fruit on the female plants, which remains on through the winter, after the leaves drop off, unless it is eaten by birds. In British nurseries, plants are com

[graphic]

monly increased by suckers, which
are produced in abundance; and a
deep sandy soil is suitable for grow-
ing the plant to a large size. It may
be planted in elevated and exposed
situations and on the sea coast, where
few other trees will grow.

12. H. SALICIFOLIA D. Don.
The Willow-leaved Hippophae,
Sea Buckthorn, or Sallowthorn.
Identification. Don Prod. Fl. Nep., p. 68.; Lodd
Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonyme. H. conférta Wall. in MSS. of the
Catalogue of the Linnean Society's Indian
Herbarium, Royle's Illust., p. 323.
Engraving. Our fig. 1207.

Spec. Char., &c. Without thorns, up-
right, branched. Leaves lanceolate,
obtuse, whitely tomentose, as are
the branchlets. A native of Siri-
nagur, in Nepal, whence it was
introduced in 1822. Judging from
the plants in the Horticultural So-
ciety's Garden, and in the arbo-

1207

[ocr errors]

retum of Messrs. Loddiges, it appears to be a much more robust species than H. Rhamnöìdes, though probably more liable to be injured by

« PreviousContinue »