CUPRESSUS LUSITANICA

The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Henry John Elwes, F.R.S. & Augustine Henry, M.A.
VOLUME V Edinburgh : Privately Printed MCMX (1910)

CUPRESSUS LUSITANICA, MEXICAN CYPRESS Cupressus lusitanien, Miller, Gard. Diet. No. 3 (1768); Lambert, Genus Pinus, i. 95, t. 65 (1803); Loudon, Are. et Fnit. Brit. iv. 2477 (1838); Forbes, Pin. Woburti. 187,1. 62 (1840); Carrière, Conif. ii. 153 (1867); Masters, in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xvii. i (1894), and Jour a. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxxi. 331 (1896); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 210 (1900). Cupressuspendula, L'Héritier, Stirp. 15, t. 8 (1784) (not Thunberg). Cupressus glauca, Lamarck, Encyd. ii. 243 (1786); Brotero, FI. Lusitanien, i. 216 (1804); End licher, Syn. Conif. 58 (1847); Dalzell and Gibson, Bombay flora, Suffi. 83 (1861); Hooker, Fl. Brit. Ind. v. 645 (1888); Masters, in Gard. Chron. x. 761, fig. no (1891); Cooke, Fl. Presid. Bombay, ii. 666 (1907). Cupressus Coulteri^ Forbes, Pin. IVoburn. 190 (1839). Cupressus Lindleyi, Klotzsch, in Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 59 (1847); Hemsley, in Biol. Cent. Amer. iii. 183 (1882). Cupressus Ehrenbergii, Kunze, in Linnœa, xx. 16 (1847). Cupressus Karwinskyana, Regel, in Gartenflora, vi. 346 (1857). Cupressus sinensis? Lee, ex Gordon, Pinetum, 63 (1858). Cupressus taexicana,3 Koch, Dendrologie, ii. pt. 2, 159 (1873). A tree, attaining in Mexico 100 ft. in height and 12 ft. in girth. Bark reddish brown, fissuring longitudinally into long thin brown strips. Branches widely spread ing with pendulous branchlets. Branchlet systems alternate, not distichous, spreading at varying angles, bi-pinnate, with the pinnae not disposed in one plane. Ultimate branchlets tetragonal, slightly compressed, -fa in. wide, ^]0 in. thick. Leaves nearly uniform in four ranks, ^ in. long, appressed, but slightly free at the tips, ovate-acuminate, often mucronate, convex from side to side, occasionally marked with a depressed circular pit. Staminate flowers yellowish, ^ in. long ; stamens about 20. Cones in the first year covered with a glaucous bloom, with the points of the scales spreading and reflexed ; in the second year ripening and letting out the seeds, and remaining on the branches for about a year afterwards, globose, about ^ in. in diameter, on straight long stalks, dark reddish brown, but covered with a glaucous bloom, whitish and thick in trees growing in Mexico, France, and Portugal, faint or absent in England and Ireland ; scales eight, each with a central, usually prominent, triangular and reflexed process. Seeds eight to ten on each scale, ^- in. long, brown, with conspicuous resin-vesicles ; wing narrow with a translucent border. 1 The plant described by Forbes in 1839 as C. Coulteri was raised from seeds taken from a cone, said to have been fifteen years old, in Coulter's herbarium. Loudon, Encyd. Trees, 1077 (1842) states that this plant was raised at Glasnevin in 1837 ; but as Coulter did not arrive in Mexico till 1834 there must be some error in the age ascribed to the seeds. A specimen in the Kew herbarium, dated 1878, from the tree at Glasnevin is C. lusitanien, and this tree is probably one of the rare Mexican cypresses which was destroyed by a storm in 1878, as Mr. F. W. Moore informs me. Further storms in 1883 and 1893 swept away the remaining Mexican trees at Glasnevin. Masters, in Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxxi. 348 (1896) is in error in identifying the specimen of C. Coulteri, preserved at Kew, with C. Macnabiana. 2 Specimens cultivated under this name at Tokai, near Cape Town, are C. lusitanien. 3 A tree cultivated under this name at Glasnevin, which was destroyed in 1878, is C. lusitanien, according to a branch preserved in the Kew herbarium. Cupressus 1177 VARIETIES A careful examination of all the native material in the Kew herbarium and in Lindley's collection at Cambridge, together with a study of the numerous examples in cultivation in England, Ireland, France, Italy, and Portugal, show that there is only one species of Cupressus in Mexico, comprising two main forms, distinguishable by their habit of growth, and resembling in this respect C. sempervirens and C. macrocarpa. Pringle writes to me as follows : " After a score of years of vain endeavour to distinguish several species of Cupressus on the mountains of Mexico, it is gratifying to learn that you think it possible that there exists only one variable species there. The Mexican cypress, so far as I have seen, varies no more in all its characters than any one of the admitted species of Mexican pines. Consider its dis tribution through sixteen degrees of latitude and from 4000 to 10,000 ft. altitude, and its growth in widely different soils, from the richest humus to the poorest volcanic soil, infinitely varying conditions which tell effectively on the character of the species." 1. The typical form, which has been described above, and which is identical in every particular with the "cedar of Goa," long cultivated in Spain and Portugal, is distinguished by its wide-spreading branches and pendulous branchlets, the ultimate ramifications of which arise at varying angles and are not disposed in one plane. The other form, usually cultivated as C. Knightiana, is distinguished as follows :— 2. Var. Benthami, Carrière, Conif. 155 (1867). Cupressus Benthami, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 59 (1847); Hemsley, in Biol. Cent. Amer. iii. 183 (1883); Masters, m Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxxi. 338 (1896); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 201 (1900). Cupressus thurifera, Schlechtendal, in Linnœa, xii. 493 (1838) (not Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth) ; Bentham, Plant. Hartweg. 57 (1840). Cupressus Knightiana, Knight and Perry, Syn. Conif. 20 (1850); Carrière, Conif. i. 158 (1867). Cupressus Uhdeana, Carrière, Conif. 129 (1855) (not Gordon). Cupressus elegans,1 Low, ex Koch, Dendrologie, ii. pt. 2, p. 156 (1873). This variety usually forms a narrow pyramidal tree, with very regular branches. Branchlet systems and their pinnae disposed in one plane. Ultimate branchlets more flattened and compressed than in the type, ?6 in. wide, •£% in. thick. Leaves, lateral pair narrow, conduplicate, with acuminate free mucronate tips ; facial pair flattened, ovate-acuminate; all usually marked with a central circular glandular depression. Bark, cones, and seeds, as in the type. This variety occurs in the wild state in Mexico, and is represented in the Kew herbarium by specimens collected by Hartweg at Banco, by Bourgeau at Orizaba, and by Parry and Palmer at 6000 to 8000 ft. near San Luis Potosi, and is doubtless sporadic throughout the whole range of the species. 3. Var. Skinneri. Cupressus Skinneri? Carrière, Conif. 128 (1855). Cupressusexcelsa, Scott, ex Carrière, Conif. 128 (1855). 1 This is referred to as a garden name for C. Knightiana, in Carrière, Conif. 127 (1855). 2 Skinner was one of the partners in the firm of Klee, Skinner, and Co., in Guatemala, and was much interested in natural history. Cf. Koch, Dendrologie, ii. pt. 2, 157 (1873). y 2 A 1178 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland This cypress which occurs in Guatemala, where it was collected l by Donnell- Smith at 5000 ft. altitude, does not differ from var. Benthami in botanical characters, but is perhaps more tender in cultivation. The late Lord Annesley raised some plants from seeds imported from Guatemala, one of which succumbed at Castle- wellan to the frost of April 1908. Another plant given to Canon Ellacombe in 1897, is, however, thriving at Bitten and has attained 14 ft. in height. 4. Var. glauca. Specimens with very bluish glaucous foliage from Monserrat in Portugal may provisionally be distinguished by this varietal name. The leaves show usually the dorsal resin-gland, which is characteristic of C. arisonica, and afford evidence that the latter species is only a geographical form of C. lusitanica. DISTRIBUTION This species is widely distributed in Mexico,2 and extends into the high mountains of Guatemala. According to Pringle it is found at altitudes between 4000 and 10,000 ft., usually growing in the neighbourhood of mountain streams, and on moist slopes. It rarely forms a forest to the exclusion of other species, and even when crowded generally branches from near the ground. Pringle speaks, however, of a small wood straggling along brooks for a mile or more on the mountains over looking the valley of Mexico on the south, the trees showing great variation in foliage and mode of branching. This species attains its largest size, 2 to 4 ft. in diameter, in damp volcanic soil on the plains at the base of the mountains, as near the city of Mexico. It is also generally planted in the towns of the southern table lands. (A. H.) The only place where I remember to have seen this beautiful tree in Mexico was in a grove of planted trees in the so-called " Sacro monte " at Amecameca, a village on the lower slopes of the great volcano of Popocatepetl, at an elevation of nearly 8000 ft. Here it was a picturesque tree with buttressed trunks 5 or 6 feet in diameter, and clothed with pendulous branches, which in many places were covered with Tillandsia and other epiphytes. Many of the trees were dying at the tops and seemed of great age. A good illustration of these trees is given under the name C. Benthami by Rarsten and Schenck.3 The vegetation and climate of this region is subtropical, and, though very dry at the season when I was there, has a long rainy season, and, as far as I could learn, little frost or snow. HISTORY So far as I know, no account has been written in English of the forest of Bussaco, in Portugal, which is celebrated as the home of the tree called Cupressus lusitanica, Miller, by botanists, and popularly known as the cypress or cedar of Goa. An attempt to decide the origin of this tree was made by the late Dr. 1 Heyde and Lux also gathered specimens of C. lusitanica in the Santa Rosa department of Guatemala at 4000 feet altitude in 1892. 2 Hartweg collected both the typical form and var. Benthami in Mexico in 1839. 3 Vtgctationsbildtr, ii. t. 16 (1905). Cupressus T 179 Masters in the Journal of the Royal Horticîdtural Society, xvii. i-n (1894) ; but I cannot accept his conclusion that C. sempervirens, C. torulosa, and C. lusitanica may have all arisen from a common stock, and at a relatively not very remote period. All the trees that I have seen of C. sempervirens in England, Portugal, and other countries are of a very different habit, at all stages and under all conditions of growth. The same applies to C. torulosa. Dr. Goeze's statement in his letter to Dr. Masters that the old monks' chronicles gave the Azoresl as the native country of the tree is not supported by any historical or botanical evidence. I prefer to believe that it is of Mexican origin, as a careful comparison of numerous Portuguese and Irish specimens with native specimens of Cupressus Lindleyi from Mexico shows that Carrière and Koch " were correct in identifying C. lusitanica with that species. The tree may as easily have been intro duced by Spanish friars3 from Mexico as by Portuguese monks from Goa,4 though we cannot now discover by whom and when ; and as the real origin seems lost in antiquity, and the tree has for at least three centuries been naturalised in Portugal, the name of C. lusitanicafl is not inappropriate. I visited Portugal in April 1909, mainly with the object of studying on the spot the cypress and the oaks of Portugal, which are extremely variable and inter esting. Professor Henriques, of Coimbra, was good enough to accompany me to Bussaco, which is reached by a short railway journey from Coimbra to Luzo ; whence a drive of two miles brings one through the village to the entrance of the Royal domain, which was formerly the property of a Trappist monastery ; on the site of which a large and beautiful hotel has been erected. The forest is sur rounded by a wall about three miles long, and appears to be a virgin forest in which have been planted at various times, but mainly forty to fifty years ago by Rodrigo de Moraes Suares, an immense variety of exotic trees. The old monks appear to have planted the cypresses at first round the monastery, and later at many points 1 In the Azores large logs of a coniferous timber are frequently found deeply buried under volcanic debris. A block of this wood, presented to the Kew Museum by Dr. Goeze, and supposed by Dr. Masters to be Cupressus sempervirens or C. lusitanica, has recently been examined at the Jodrell laboratory by Mr. Boodle, and proves to be that of a juniper, and is probably Juniperus brevifolia, Parlatore, a tree still common on the Azores. There are not any grounds for supposing that C. lusitanica ever inhabited the Azores. Cf. Gard. Chrm. 1867, p. 929; Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 180(1900); and Trelease, Missouri Bot. Card. Rep. viii. 169 (1897).—(A. H.) 2 Koch, Dendrologie, ii. pt. 2, p. 155 (1873), vvno describes the Mexican native species under the name C. Coulteri, Forbes, and C. lusitanica under the name C. pendilla, L'Héritier, states that the former is probably the wild form of the latter, and adds that it is often impossible to distinguish one from the other.—(A. II.) 3 C. lusitanica is common in cultivation in southern Spain, and there is a specimen at Kew labelled Los Martyres Monastery, Granada City. According to Willkomm and Lange, Prod. Fl. Hispan. i. 21 (1861), Guira found it apparently wild in Torre de Guil, at the base of the Sierra de Carrascoy, in Murcia.—(A. H.) 4 The tree is unknown at Goa, and there is not a single specimen from any part of India in the Kew herbarium. Dalzcll and Gibson, Bombay Flora, Suppl. 83 (1861), say: "Now common in gardens, native and European, does not succeed below the Ghauts, and above only where the soil is deep and rich. The healthiest appears to be those planted in front of Sir Jamsetjee's bungalow in Poona, but they are young and have their trials to go through." Gammie wrote from Foona, 17th July 1903 : " Said never to fruit in the Bombay Presidency. This is the result of repeated inquiries on my part. It is by no means common in Poona now, as many plants were killed in the drought of 1899-1900." Brandis, Forest Flora, 534, and Hooker, Fl. Brit. India, v. 645, are apparently in error in stating that the tree is extensively cultivated in the western Ghats. No one, in any case, has ever seen old trees in India. Hutchins, in Card. Chron. xxxvi. 275 (1904) and xxxvii. 219 (1905), reports that he cultivated C. lusitanica, C. sinensis, and C. torulosa, so-called, at Tokai, near Cape Town, and concluded that the two former were cultivated varieties of C. torulosa. Hutchins kindly sent us copious specimens of the three forms, which he had in cultivation, and they are all C. lusitanica. He had not obtained true plants of C. torulosa.—(A. II.) 6 C. lusitanica is the oldest name of the species, and is adopted by us on that account.—(A. H.) ii8o The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland along the roads and paths which lead to the nine entrances to the forest, but always singly or in lines, apparently for ornament alone. The oldest of these trees are still, with one or two exceptions, quite sound, and although difficult to measure on account of their being crowded by other trees, I was able to make the following measurements :— 1. A tree near the hotel, just below the road leading to the Coimbra gate, about i io ft. by ii ft. 2 in., with a clean bole about 40 ft. high. 2. A tree which M. Lacerda, the director of the domain, considers the largest of all, is 85 to 90 ft. high, with a bole of 30 ft., 15 ft. io in. in girth, and situated just below the small chapel of San José. 3. A little above this is a tree, perhaps 100 ft. high or possibly more, with a straight clean bole 66 ft. by 12 ft. 8 in. 4. Above the avenue of Mosteiro a very tall fine tree, possibly taller than No. i, but I could not measure it. 5. A little way down towards the water-staircase a very large hollow tree, the only one which seems to be decayed, measured 15 ft. io in. in girth. There is much variation in the form and habit of this cypress according to the situation ; it seems capable of growing in fairly dense shade, and when crowded by other trees cleans its trunk well. Some fine young trees, said to be about fifty years old, in the deep moist hollow called the Valle dos Abietos, measured about 90 ft. high by 4 to 5 ft. in girth, and were clean to half their height. I have no doubt that these, in the course of another fifty years or so, will attain a greater height than any of the old ones, and may eventually equal, if not surpass, the splendid young silver firs which are growing in the same valley ; whose seedlings come up as thickly and evenly as I have ever seen them do in their native country. The cypress, though it sows itself freely, requires more light when young, and reproduces best where a shallow bed of leaf-mould is partially exposed to the sun. In such places I found plenty of seedlings which seemed to have an excellent root system, and I was able to transplant some of them to the garden of Baron Soutelinho (Mr. A. Tait), of Oporto, and to send some small ones home by post. Owing to the kindness of Senhor Lacerda I have received a fine plank and section of the wood, cut from a tree which shows 160 annual rings on a radius of 18 in.; it appears to be very similar to the wood of Cupressus sempervirens. This account1 has been read by Prof. Henriques, who informs me that the mountain of Bussaco is on the inferior Silurian formation. With regard to the date of its introduction, he says that it must certainly have existed before 1634, when it was mentioned in a poem called Soledades de Bussaco. When the mountain was acquired by the Trappists from the monks of Vacarica in 1626, there was already a great variety of trees, forming a dense forest. The chapel of San José, near which the largest tree grows, was founded in 1644, and the Chronicles of the Carmelite (cap. xx. p. no), published in 1721, speaking of this chapel, says that near it is found the first cypress, progenitor of all the others in the forest. In 1689 Tourne - 1 M. Jacques L. de Vilmorin, in Bull. Soc. Dead. France, 1907, p. 49, gives an interesting account of the forest of Bussaco, which he visited in 1906. Cupressus 1181 fort, in the original manuscript of his Voyage en Portugal, which is now in Prof. Henriques' possession, describes the species as follows : Cupressus lusitanica, patula, fructu minori. I saw this cypress growing at many other places in Portugal, but nowhere very large, except in the beautiful garden of Monserrat, formerly the property of Mr. Beckford, but purchased in 1855 by Sir Francis Cook, whose son, the present Sir Frederick Cook (Viscount Monserrate in Portugal), keeps up this unique place with the greatest care. The oldest cypresses here seem to have been planted something like a century ago, and are extremely varied in habit, as well as in the size, shape, and colour of their fruit. The tallest, in a low sheltered valley north of the house, was blown down a year ago, and measured 3 ft. 5 in. in diameter on the stump. It is said to have been taller than two trees still standing in the same place, one of which is from 105 to no ft. high by io ft. 5 in. in girth, the other being about 90 ft. by \z\ ft. In the Mexican garden there is an old tree about 70 ft. high, with a flat umbrella-shaped top and a trunk clean to about 50 ft. ; several others on the slope just below the house are extremely unlike this in habit, having spreading branches down to the ground profusely covered with old cones, some of which were persistent on branches twenty to thirty years old. Some of these trees were very glaucous in colour, and had longer fruit with larger protuberances. The fruit was much more abundant on these comparatively young and spreading trees than on the tall old ones, and seed was escaping from the cones in the middle of April. Some trees were so covered with male flowers as to give them a yellow appearance, and these bore comparatively few cones. INTRODUCTION This tree was in cultivation1 in 1682 in the Chelsea and Fulham gardens and at Badminton, and was probably introduced from Portugal a short time previously. Miller, writing2 in 1768, says that it was then rare in English gardens, and mentions large trees that had been killed by the frost of 1740 and 1762. It was probably re- introduced during the Peninsular War, when many officers must have seen this species at Bussaco ; and Loudon3 states as a fact that Lord Ferrard brought seeds to Ireland in 1809, which produced many plants. Plants were raised4 at Glasnevin in 1837 from seeds obtained from Coulter's Mexican specimens ; and in all prob ability Hartweg sent seeds from Mexico in 1840 to 1843. Var. Benthami was introduced, according to Loudon,6 under the name C. thurifera, in 1838, when there was a plant a few inches high in the Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick. In 1843, a plant6 7 ft. high was growing in Lucombe, Pince, and Co.'s nursery at Exeter. Uhde,7 who was Prussian Consul at Matamoras, in Mexico, also sent seeds soon afterwards to Berlin, the plants from which were known as C. Uhdeana. This variety was sent out under the name C. Knightiana 1 Cf. Masters, injburn. Roy. Horl.Soc. xvii. 5 (1894). It is mentioned by Ray, Hist. Plant, ii. 1414, 1798, 1916(1688). * Diet. ed. 8, No. 3 (1768). 3 Art. et Frut. Brit. i. 109 (1838). 4 Loudon, Trees and Shrubs, 1077 (1842). 6 Loudon, Arb. et Fmt. Brit. iv. 2480 (1838). 6 Gard. Mag. xix. 36 (1843). 1 Cf. Koch, Dendrologie, ii. pt. 2, p. 154 (1873). n8a The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland by Knight and Perry, who stated1 their ignorance of its origin in 1850; but in all probability their plants were raised from seed sent by Hartweg. REMARKABLE TREES In England2 we know of no trees which can be certainly distinguished as of Portuguese origin. There is a fine one at Hemsted Park, Cranbrook, which measured 50 ft. by lo ft. in 1905, and seems to be a very old tree (Plate 300). At Westonbirt there are two good trees, about 50 ft. high, somewhat differing in habit, one with rather wide-spreading branches, which was bearing cones in 1909; the other, a narrow pyramidal tree, was without fruit in that year. At Luscombe Castle, Dawlish, a tree, which I saw in 1908, was about 50 ft. by 5 ft. There are several trees in Cornwall, which Mr. A. B. Jackson measured in 1909; at Heligan, a good specimen, 40 ft. by 6 ft. 8 in. ; and at Glendurgan, two trees, the larger, 40 ft. by 4 ft. ii in. There are smaller ones at Liphook, and at Grayswood, Haslemere. This species is not hardy at Barton,3 Suffolk, where all the specimens were killed in the winter of 1860-61. In Ireland this species thrives at several places. The finest,4 perhaps, is at Woodstock, and in 1909 measured about 57 ft. by loj ft., dividing low down into six large stems, and bearing many new and old cones. The forester informed me that 23° of frost had been registered here. Loudon records a tree at Oriel Temple, Co. Louth, now the seat of Lord Masserene, which was 32 ft. high in 1834, and had been raised, as stated above, from seed brought from Portugal by Lord Ferrard in 1809. I visited this place in July 1908, and found no less than three large trees, which may be of the same age. The first is a stunted tree, with a wide-spreading crown 19 yards in diameter, and a short trunk only 4 ft. high and 7 ft. 7 in. in girth. It was covered with new fruit, while those of the preceding year remained, and contained plenty of ripe seed. The second is a much finer tree (Plate 301), about 40 ft. high, with spreading branches and a straight trunk 8 ft. i in. in girth and about 20 ft. high. The third is forked near the ground, where it is 7 ft. 9 in. in girth, and it is about 40 ft. high, with wide-spreading branches. A tree at Kilmacurragh, which is probably of the same age and origin, is 48 ft. by 8 ft., with a bole of 10 ft. high. From it a cutting was struck many years ago (as I was informed by Mr. Moore, of Glasnevin) which has now grown into a fine tree, and had abundance of new and old fruit containing ripe seeds. There is a tree8 at Rostrevor House probably of the same origin as those at Oriel Temple. At Fota there is a fine specimen, cultivated under the name 1 Syn. Conif. 19 (1850). 2 We have seen no trees in Scotland. The specimen at Rossdhu, Dumbartonshire, reported mjourn. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 507 (1892), was incorrectly named, and is C. Lawsoniana. Cf. Masters, mjfcurji. Roy. Hort. Soc. xvii. I, note (1894). 3 Bunbury, Arboretum Notes, 155. 4 This tree measured at 2 ft. from the ground 3 ft. 9 in. in 1825, 4 ft. 8 in. in 1834, 6 ft. 8 in. in 1854, and 6 ft 8J in. in 1860. 6 A much larger tree than the one now standing at Rostrevor was blown down in 1903. Cupressus 1183 C. Macnabiana, which was 55 ft. by 6 ft. 3 in. in 1907. There is also a fine tree in the old deer park, Castlemartyr, about 60 ft. high, which Henry saw in 1907. At Birr Castle, King's County, the Earl of Rosse informs us that there is an old tree, 8 ft. in girth at 2 ft. from the ground, and dividing above this into many stems. In England we have distinguished as belonging to var. Benthami a tree at Lamorran, Cornwall, which Mr. A. B. Jackson measured as 49 ft. high in 1909. At Culver, Exeter, a tree, raised from seed brought by Mr. Byrom from the south of France in 1879, measured, in 1909, 35 ft. high, and 7 ft. in girth close to the ground. In a sheltered dell at Bicton, there is a tree—No. 286 in the Bicton MS. catalogue—of var. Benthami, which, though the main stem is broken off some distance from the ground, measured, in 1906, 56 ft. in height, and 12^ ft. in girth at the base. There are two tall trees, close to it, of which No. 290 is typical C. lusitanica, and No. 274 is C. torulosa. No. 283 in the same dell, a tall narrow tree, labelled C. religiosa, and 55 ft. by 7 ft. in 1909, is C. hisitanica, var. Benthami. There was formerly a tree of var. Benthami growing near the Rhododendron dell at Kew, which was cut down about twelve years ago. A specimen preserved in the Arboretum herbarium shows that it produced fruit freely. In Ireland the largest tree of this variety grows on Fota Island (Plate 302), and measured no less than 75 ft. high by 7 ft. 4 in. in girth in 1908. Lord Barrymore informs us that his beautiful specimens of Abies religiosa and Pinus patula were sent by J. Knight in 1844, and planted in 1847. He suspects that this tree, long known under the name C. Lindleyana? was of the same origin. There is another of similar habit at Woodstock which in 1909 was 57 ft. by 6 ft. 3 in. In the nursery of Rovelli Frères at Pallanza, there is a fine specimen of typical C. lusitanica, 50 ft. by 6 ft. 8 in. in 1909, which is erroneously labelled Cupressus sp., Hills of India.2 Var. Benthami is represented by several large trees, which are named incorrectly C. elegans and C. Huge Hi. (H. J. E.)

Cunninghamia lanceolata

Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook in Bot. Mag. 54: t.2743 (1827)
Pinus lanceolata lamb. (1803)
Cunninghamia sinensis R. Br. ex Rich., Mem Conif. 80 (1926)

Widely distributed in the mountain valleys of Central and Souuth China, originally discovered in the Island of Chusan in 1702; Introduced to Kew by William Kerr in 1804. E.H. Wilson found the tree in large forests at altitudes of 800-1300 m in Omei Shan, and it is also plentiful in Ichang and West Szechuan.

Manual of Cultivated Conifers: Hardy in the Cold-and Warm-temperate Zone
Pieter den Ouden, Boudewijn Karel Boom
Edition: 3, illustrated
Springer, 1982

Hooker's figure of female cones is not very accurate - it was based upon a drawing published by Achille Richard (Commentatio botanica de Conifereis et Cycadeis p. 80, pl. 18, f. 3. 1826. ). Hooker's plant flowered with male catkins in 1826-7 at Glasgow.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans'

From Veitch's Manual of Coniferae

Dallimore & Jackson Handbook of Coniferae 3rd ed. 1948, p.255
CRYPTOMERIA Don
Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) Don.
JAPANESE CEDAR
Goddess of Mercy Fir, Peacock Pine, Sugi

Cryptomeria Fortunei Hooibrenk; Cupressus japonica L.f.; Taxodium japonicum Brongiart.

Var. elegans (Henkel and Hochstetter) Masters
Cryptomeria elegans Veitch; Cryptomeria gracilis Hort.

A well-marked variety of bushy habit in which juvenile type of foliage is retained.
Introduced from Japan in 1861 by John Gould Veitch. It should be given a shelterted place as it is liable to be blown about badly during stormy weather.

Veitch's Manual of the Coniferae

A Manual of the Coniferae
James Veitch & Sons
Royal Exotic Nursery, 544, King's Road, Chelsea, S.W.
1881

Cryptomeria japonica 'Lobbii'

Cryptomeria japonica 'Lobbi'

Cryptomeria japonica D. Don 'Lobbi' Veitch

Cryptomeria japonica D. Don forma lobbii [Carr.] Beissner

Walter Oates described this conifer that stood for many years at the top of the lawn next to the palacio: "C. japonica var. Lobbii stands in a good position at the top of the lawn and is very conspicuous." 1929

This is the pyramidal conifer that is seen in so many postcard views. Some descriptions erroneously describe this as Thuya plicata, a tree that would quickly have out grown this situation.

Description: Slower growing than the species and dense, more compact foliage. Stands all extremes of growing conditions but especially good in high rainfall areas that are well drained. Ideal for a large hedge or slow growing shelter belt. A conical, symmetrical tree. Very neat. 4.5 metres high x 2 metres wide in 10 years in our Nursery/Garden. Zone 5. http://www.conifers.co.nz/cryptomeria/cryptomeria.html

James Veitch A Manual of the Coniferae 1881, p. 219

Cryptomeria japonica Lobbi is more compact in habit than the tree above described [C. japonica] ; the branchlets are less pendulous, the foliage is of a brighter and deeper green, the leaves shorter, more pointed, and more closely adpressed to the branchlets. It was sent to us from the Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, in Java, by Mr. Thomas Lobb in 1853.

p. 221 Seeds of the Japanese Cryptomeria were sent by Dr. Siebold to the Dutch Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, in Java, so long ago as 1825, and one of the trees raised from this seed was the parent plant of those brought to us from the same garden in 1853, by Mr. Thomas Lobb, from which originated all those now cultivated under the nmae of Cryptomeria japonica Lobbi. It is therefore evident that the latter is the true C. japonica, although Siebold affirms that it differs from the Japanese type in its lighter green foliage, but this difference is too trifling to affect the main fact. It would be more correct nomenclature for the tree at present known in British gardens as C. japonica, to be called C. japonica Fortunei, and that known as C. japonica Lobbi, to be known as C. japonica. [...] In England the Cryptomeria has proved to be hardy, but good specimens are comparatively rare in this country, owing, probably, to climatal causes, the most potent being a less annual rainfall, and a lower average summer temperature than in Japan. It is only in deep rich soils, with an abundance of moisture, and protected from piercing winds, that the Cryptomeria develops the fine ornamental qualities it is seen to possess in its native country, and when planted in such spots, a clear space having a radius of not less than 15 feet should be allowed for it.

Chamaecyparis obtusa

Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl.
Synopsis Coniferarum 63. 1847.

Synonym
Retinospora obtusa Sieb. & Zucc. 1870

Listed Monserrate 1980 as Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Variegata'

Araucaria heterophylla at Monserrate

Araucaria bidwillii

Rare close up - courtesy of high winds last week.

Dacrydium cupressinum

View of crown from opposite hillside.

Monserrate

from Wikipaedia

Another good image of bark here.

Conifers at Monserrate

List compiled by Luso-Canadian Team, 1988-89

Abies nordmanniana
Abies procera
Abies spectabilis
Agathis australis
Agathis obtusa
Agathis robusta
Araucaria angustifolia
Araucaria bidwillii
Araucaria columnaris
Araucaria cunninghamii
Araucaria glauca
Araucaria heterophylla
Araucaria rulei
Calocedrus decurrens
Cedrus atlantica
Cedrus libani
Chamaecyparis funebris
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Chamaecyparis pisifera
Cryptomeria japonica
Cupressus arizonica
Cupressus californica
Cupressus fastigiata
Cupressus goveniana
Cupressus lusitanica
Cupressus macrocarpa
Dacrydium cupressinum
Juniperus cedrus
Juniperus virginiana
Pinus ayachuite
Pinus canariensis
Pinus halapensis
Pinus montaezumae
Pinus normanniana
Pinus patula
Pinus pinaster
Pinus pinea
Pinus roxburghii
Pinus wallichiana
Podocarpus ferrugineus
Podocarpus manii
Podocarpus montanus
Podocarpus neriifolius
Podocarpus taxiflora
Platycladus orientalis
Sciadopitys verticillata
Sequoia semprevirens
Sequioadendron giganteum
Taxodium distichum
Taxodium excelsum
Taxodium mucronatum
Taxodium sempervirens
Taxus baccata
Thuja plicata


List compiled from historical references - contains some antique synonyms and mispellings - to be sorted out. Many of these plants are no longer to be found in the gardens. However there are omissions that are still present.

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Digital Herbarium - experiment

Podocarpus sp. to identify
Monserrate 05/03/2009

Notes:
Leaves 150mm x 15 mm
Growing in deep shade

Possibly P. macrophyllus - according to Euro. Garden Flora Key

Taxodium distichum var. imbricatum

Taxodium distichum var. imbricatum (Nutt.) Croom
Cat. Pl. New Bern, ed. 2 3048. 1837.
TAXODIACEAE


Synonyms:
Cupressus disticha var. imbricata Nutt.
The Genera of North American Plants 2: 224. 1818.
Taxodium ascendens Brongn.
Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Paris) 30: 182. 1833.
{Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris) ; BPH 113.16}

Cephalotaxus harringtonia

Male Flowers

Abies insignis

Abies insignis Carr. ex Bailly
Rev. Hort. (Paris) Vol 62, p. 230. (1890)

Cited at Monserrate 1870, "Abies insignis, only 9 years old, but 50 feet in height", this name was first published in 1890, but refers to a hybrid fir raised by the French nurseryman Renault at Bulnéville (Vosges) France around 1850.

Sur l'"Abies insignis" (Carrière), hybride naturel supposé des "Abies Pinsapo" et "Nordmanniana",
communication faite à la Société d'horticulture d'Orléans et du Loiret, séance du 5 mars 1893
Dr Émile Bailly de Château-du-Loir
Published by impr. de P. Pigelet, 1894

THE TREES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND Vol IV, 1909, p.733
Henry John Elwes

This hybrid was obtained or 1849 in the nursery of M. Renault at Bulgnéville in the Vosges. A branch of A. Pinsapo was grafted on a stock of the common silver fir (A. pectinata) ; and after some years the grafted plant produced cones. Seeds from these were sown ; and of the seedlings raised one-half were like A. Pinsapo, the remainder being intermediate in character, it was supposed, between A. Pinsapo and A. pectinata ; and the variation was considered to be the result of graft hybridisation. However, at no great distance there was growing a tree of A. Nordmanniana ; and it is more probable that the hybrid character of the seedlings was the result of a cross from A. Pinsapo fertilised by the pollen of A. Nordmanniana. A complete account of these seedlings is given by M. Bailly.


Described by Pieter den Ouden in his Manual of Cultivated Conifers as a fast growing tree, 30m; crown broadly pyramidal

Abies nordmanniana x Abies pinsapo.

There are several cultivars recorded

'Andreana' Mottett in Rev. Hort 1902 : 163 = A. insignis var. andreana (Mottet) Rehd. in J.A.A. 1: 54 (1919)
'Beissneriana'

Dacrydium plumosum

Dacrydium plumosum D. Don
A Description of the Genus Pinus, ed. 2
Podocarpaceae

Thuja Doniana Hook, in London Journal of Botany 1: 571. 1842. nom. illeg. superfl.

Thuja doniana Hook, is now known as Libocedrus plumosa (D.Don)Sargent. 19. Hooker, JD Handbook of the New Zealand flora.

Libocedrus plumosa (D. Don) Sarg. The Silva of North America 10: 134. 1896.

"Kawaha of the natives, from forests along the banks of the Hokianga river, near the Bay of Islands in the West Island of New Zealand ..."

Phyllocladus trichomanoides

Icones Plantarum Or Figures, with Brief Descriptive Characters and Remarks, of New Or Rare Plants, Selected from the Author's Herbarium By William Jackson Hooker, Joseph Dalton

Phyllocladus trichomanoides

A Description of the Genus Pinus, ed. 3 2: 159. 1832.

Tanekaha, Celery Pine

Botany Bay House described in Curtis's Boranical Magazine vol. 71, 1845 the oldest and largest trees were received as a gift from Capt. Sir W. Symonds, Surveyor General of the Navy. Included "peculiar-looking Phyllocladus trichomanoides" from New Zealand.

New Zealand: N Cape (N Island) and northern Marlborough and Nelson districts, extending to nearly lat. 42° on west of the S Island; in lowland forest up to 800 m above sea level. It is a hardy tree that grows equally well in shade or in the open (Allan 1961, Salmon 1996).

Phyllocladus, R. Br., Rich. Conif. p. 129.
326. P.* trichomanoides, frondibus pinnatis, foliolis cuneatis inciso-lobatir, lobis truncatis dentatis. Don. in Lamb. Pin. edit. 2. App. Rich. Conif. p.129. t. 3.—P. rhomboidalis. A. Rick. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 363. non E. L. Rich., Br. et excl. tyn. LabiU.—Tanekaha of the natives, Rev. W. Yale. " Toa- toa ab incolis vulgo dicitur," D'Urville.

New Zealand (Northern Island), forests on the banks of the river Thames, and in dry woods on hills at the Bay of Islands, Wangaroa, &c.—1826, A. Cunningham.

A tree of straight tapering growth, occasionally attaining the height of sixty feet, seldom, however, exceeding a diameter of three feet. The wood is a shade darker than the Dammara or Kauri; it has a closer grain, smells strongly of turpentine, and being less affected with wet than any other pine, is regarded as an exceedingly valuable wood. " It is used," says the Rev. W. Yate, " for all kinds of outside work, such as posts and floors for verandahs, and is much sought after for the decks of vessels." Its bark is used by the natives for dying a red colour, which they prepare in the following way: " The bark," says Bennett, " is pounded and then placed in a vessel of cold water, into which hot stones are thrown till the water boils, this being the natives' mode of treating water, since, having no knowledge of pottery, they possess no vessel which can be placed on the fire. After the bark has been boiled for some hours, the decoction becomes of a dark red colour; it is then left to cool, when it is strained and ready for use."

The garden of Baron Zanoli, 1840

The garden of Baron Zanoli is situated at a short distance from Sesto St. Giovanni, on the high road from Milan to Monza. It is of small extent, but well laid out, and rich in fine plants, such as Laurus caroliniana, Comptonia asplenifolia, Juniperus lycia, Cupressus Tournefortii, Taxus sibirica, T. macrophylla, T. neriifolia. There are tufts of Andromeda, among which are A. arborea, A. calycina, A. speciosa, A. acuminata, A. racemosa, A. floribunda, &c., azaleas, rhododendrons, kalmias, Paeonia Moutan, P. Moutan papaveracea, P. Moutan rosea, &c., which adorn it greatly with their superb flowers; and, as the proprietor cultivates the science with great ability, he arranges the whole in so judicious a manner as to create a magical effect. Among the pines, in which the baron greatly delights, and to complete the collection of which he spares neither money nor pains, there are some species which, for the beauty of their foliage and fruit, perfectly enchant me. Your admirable Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum served him as a guide, and by the help of this work he has compiled so ingenious a catalogue, that, by referring to it, he can tell in an instant the species which he possesses, and those which are still wanting to complete his collection. He intends, when his pines have attained considerable age and strength, to have portraits of them made, and to publish the figures, with an accompanying description of them. May his love for arboriculture serve as an incentive to my rich compatriots! Here follows the list of the species which he possesses : —

Pinus sylvestris, P. s. horizontalis, P. s. uncinata, P. s. rigensis, P. s. genevensis, P. s. genevensis brevifolia, P. s. scariosa, P. s. intermedia, P. pumilio, P. p. Fischeri, P. p. Mughus, P. Banksiana, P. inops, P. mitis, P. pungens, P. Laricio, P. L. corsicana, P. L. caramanica, P. L. calabrica, P. L. austriaca, P. L. pyrenaica, P. L. altissima, P. L. taurica, 6 ft. high, P. L. Pallasiana, 3 ft. high, P. L. resinosa, P. Pinaster, P. P. maritima minor, P. P. maritima major, P. P. nepalénsis, 2ft. high, P. P. Massoniana. 3ft. high, P. Pinea, P. halepénsis, P. brutia, P. nootkatensis, 2 ft. high, P. montana, P. urulénsis, 1J ft. high, P. romana, 6 ft., high, P. echinata, P. monteriensis [?], 6ft. high, P. embrunénsis [?], 4 ft.high,P. racemosa, P. Taeda, P. rígida,/1. Sabiniana major, 4 ft. high, P. S. minor, 2 ft. high, P. S. var.. 1, 1/2 ft. high, P. Coulteri, 3 ft. high, P. longifolia, 4 ft. high, P. Gerardiana, 2 ft. high, P. australis, P. excelsa, 2 ft. high, P. canariensis, P. sinénsis, 12 ft., high, P. insignis, 2ft. high, P. Llaveana, 1,1/2 ft. high, P. Michaúii, 4 ft., high, P. Cembra, P. Strobus, P. S. compressa, 1, 1/2 ft. high, P. S, elata, 2 ft, high. P. S. excelsa, 2ft. high, P.S. Lambertiana, 1,1/2ft. high, P. S. montícola, 1,1/2ft. high, Abies excelsa, A. e. péndula, A. e. Clanbrasiliana, A. alba, A. a. nana, A. nigra, A. n. rùbra, A.n. caerùlea, A* Smithiana, 2 ft, high, A. orientàlis, 2 ft. high, A, Douglasii, 2 ft. high, A. Menziesii, 2 ft. high, A. canadénsis, A, monocaúlon [ ?], 2, 1/2 ft. high, Pícea pectinata, .P. cinérea. P* Pichla,2 ft. high, P. balsàmea, P. Fràseri, P. nóbilis, 1.5 ft, high, P. Webbiana, 5 ft. high, P. Pindrow, 3 ft. high, P. religiosa, 2 ft. high, P. Nòvae Hollandiae, 2 ft, high, P.. Fórsteri, 2 ft. high, P. Hudsoniana,, 3 ft. high. Larix europaea, L. e. péndula, L. e. fl. rubro, L. e. fl. albo, L. e. sibírica, L. e. dahùrica, 2ft. high, L. americana, 12ft. high, L. а. péndula, 2 ft. high. Cèdrus Libàni, С. Deodara, 4 ft. high. Araucaria brasiliàna, A. excelsa (Altíngía excelsa), A. Cunninghamia. Cunninghamia sinénsis. I have given the height of those only which I consider the most rare.

The Marquis Cosmo Ridolfi of Florence continues to obtain abundant produce from the batata (Convolvulus Batatas, vel Ipomo`a Batatas), so much so, that this year he has sold some hundred pounds' weight of them. He has besides found that this, climber is very useful as fodder, as its numerous branches, which contain a great quantity of starch, furnish abundant and excellent food, best adapted for cows, as it considerably augments the quantity of milk, at the same time rendering it of better quality. — Giuseppe Manetti.

Paris 1867

Si nous explorons les massifs d'arbustes de la nombreuse famille des Conifères, que de richesses exposées par MM. Oudin, Paillet, Jamain-Durand, Seneclauze et James Veitch, de Londres! L'on admirait la belle venue et l'élégance des espèces suivantes: Pinus syltestris rubra, P. nivea, P. flexilis, P. pallasiana, P. coulteri, P. muricata, P. radiata; Picea macrophylla, P. rubra; Abies bracteata, A. amabilis, A. nobilis, A. magnifica, A. albertiana, A. spectabilis; Retinospora obtusa, Arthrotaxis selaginoides, Thuiopsis dolabrata, Torreya grandis, Juniperut drupacea, Sciadopitys verticillata, Libocedrus chilensis argentea, tous très-remarquables par leur porl et leur belle végétation.

Bon nombre de serres abritent les plantes hors ligne exposées par MM. Chantin, Lierval, A. Verschaffelt et Linden, qui sont les princes de l'horlicuture ; ces splendides Palmiers, les Cycas, les Zamia, les Encephalartos, les Pandanus, les Theophrasta, les Fougères en arbres souvent gigantesques et toujours élégantes, mais difficiles à conserver, et qui ne semblent créées que pour le plaisir d'un petit nombre d'élus. On y remarque les espèces suivantes: Areca sapida, A. alba et A. rubra; Seafortia speciosa, S. robusta; Chamaedorea atrovirens, Latania jenkensis, Thrinax argentea, Cocos peruviana, Ceroxylon niveum, Caryota sobolifera, Sabal umbraculifera, Rhopala corcovadensis, Martinezia Lindeniana, Cycas circinalis, Encephalartos horridus, Zamia vernicosa, Z. glauca. Dans la même serre on avait placé les belles Fougères en arbres: le Balantium antarticum, Alsophila australis, Cyathea dealbata, magnifiques plantes; le beau Palmier de M. Linden, Seafortia robusta, qui a mérité un premier prix, et son superbe Gunnera manicata, de pleine terre, dont les feuilles acquièrent cinq mètres de circonférence. Le prix des jeunes plants est de 25 fr. la pièce. Cette plante a aussi mérité un premier prix. Les amateurs des plantes de serre s'arrêtaient auprès des magnifiques Gloxinia, d'une finesse de coloris et d'une vigueur de végétation remarquables; des Achimenes de la plus belle venue; puis la nombreuse et bizarre famille des Orchidées, des Vandu, des Dendrobium, des Cypripedium, des Nepenthes, des Aroidées en fleur, mais remarquables surtout par leur beau feuillage: Anthurium magnificum, Cyanophyllum magnificum, Caladium Lowii, Alocasia cuprea, et le beau Marantha rosea picta, de M. Linden, tous jugés dignes d'un premier prix.

Je ne puis énumérer toutes les variétés de Begonia, de Caladium, qui ornent quelques serres. Les amateurs des plantes à beau feuillage ont dû admirer le superbe lot de M. Bleu, des variétés nouvelles de cinquante sujets de Caladium, tous obtenus par lui par fécondation artificielle, avec étiquette indiquant le nom de chaque plante; elles étaient toutes splendides, variées de coloris, d'une végétation luxuriante.


M. Linden a exposé une collection de Theophrasta ornemental, tous à beau feuillage et gigantesques, savoir : Theophrasta imperialis, Th. attenuata, Th. glauca, Th. macrophylla, Th. crassipes, Th. angustifolia, Th. latifolia, Th. undulala, Th. longiflora, Th. nobilis, ornés de grandes et belles feuilles. Ce lot a mérité un premier prix.

[...]

Les progrès que l'horticulture a fait s depuis l'Exposition de 1855 juisqu'à ce jour sont immenses. Devons-nous cet état de choses à la facilité des relations et des moyens de transport qui se développent de plus en plus, ou faut-il l'attribuer aux amateurs toujours plus nombreux, aux publications horticoles et aux Sociétés d'horticulture établies dans tous les grands ceutres ? Toutes ces causes y ont concouru ; l'Etat seul est resté indifférent, en laissant les jardins botaniques dans l'état où ils étaient il y a vingt-cinq ans, et avec des allocations insuffisantes, qui ne leur permettent ni l'achat des plantes nouvelles, ni l'entretien des serres destinées à les recevoir.

UNE VISITE
A LA SECTION D'HORTICULTURE DE L'EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE
A LA FIN DE JUIN 1867
Par A. ROUX
Jardinier en chef du Jardin des plantes de Montpellier

Abies procera

A Manual of The Coniferae
James Veitch, Chelsea, 1881

Abies procera Rehder
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993. Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms.

Walter Oates records a Noble Fir (formerly known as Abies nobilis) growing at Monserrate in 1929


Willamette National Forest
US Forest Service


Details of flowering shoots
US Forest Service

Discovered by the redoubtable David Douglas, this was one of his favourite trees: "I spent three days in a forest composed of this tree, and day by day could not cease to admire it". He described this "majestic tree, forming vast forests on the mountains of Northern California" [Cascade Mountains]. (North American Sylva - Francis André Michaux, 1865)

Veitch, p. 101 : Habitat.- Principally in the neighbourhood of the Columbia River in Oregon, and southwards as far as the Shasta Mountains in California. Introduced in 1831 by the Horticultural Society of London through their collector, David Douglas.

Abies nobilis at Highnam Court
Present height (1881) 60 feet [It reaches 250 ft.]

Abies nobilis is universally allowed to be one of the greatest of Douglas' discoveries and introductions. Besides its noble aspect, and the distinct colour of its foliage, it possesses qualities that render it especially valuable in ornamental planting, for which alone it should be employed in Britain, although its timber is useful in its native country.

This tree is happiest in areas of high rainfall and acid conditions and will not tolerate alkaline soil.

The length of the lower branches of the finest specimens at present growing in Britain, range from 15 to 18 feet, so that a space having a radius greater than these dimensions must be allowed for the development of its grand proportions.

Abies procera 'Glauca'
Though the leaves of this species are naturally glaucous (silvery) this variety represents a particular selection according to this characteristic. Nowdays the tree is most familiar as a deluxe Christmas tree. It has the particular merit of retaining its needles in centrally heated interiors.

What an ignominious end for such a noble fir!







Synonyms
Pinus nobilis Douglas ex D. Don A Description of the Genus Pinus, ed. 3 1832.
non A. nobilis A. Dietrich, (1824) [used for Abies alba]

That non cost the Noble Fir its epiphet. The name could not be shared by two different plants and the pedestrian Abies procera (procerus = tall) took its place; published by American Botanist Rehder in 1940.

Other synonyms:
Picea nobilis (Douglas ex D. Don) Loudon Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum 4: 2342. 1838. (Arbor. Frutic. Brit.)
Pseudotsuga nobilis (Douglas ex D. Don) W.R. McNab Proceedings of thr Royal Irish Academy 2: 209-213, t. 49. 1876. (Proc. Roy. Irish Acad.)


David Douglas
His expeditions were sponsored by what was to become the Royal Horticultural Society, having been recommended by Sir William Hooker, first Director of Kew. Douglas had become friendly with Hooker in Glasgow where, in 1820, he worked in the Botanic Gardens; the same year that Hooker had become Professor of Botany at the University. It is reputed that he suffered snow blindness as a result of his later expeditionary work. He certainly became blind in one eye, and problems with his sight probably contributed to his premature death in 1834, at the age of 35. On his way home from the Pacific Northwest in Hawaii he was gored in a wild cattle trap into which he had fallen, a frightful end for one of the world's most prolific plant hunters.

University of Glasgow