Picea hondoensis.—Leaves flat, with bands of stomata confined to the dorsal surface. On the lower surface of lateral branchlets the twig is bare, with the leaves directed outwards at right angles.
Picea Alcockiana.—Leaves quadrangular in section, with lines of stomata on the ventral surface, in addition to the bands of stomata on the dorsal surface. On the lower surface of lateral branchlets the twig is not quite bare, and the leaves are directed forwards at an acute angle.
Picea hondoensis, Picea ajanensis, and Picea sitchensis have been distinguished, so far as leaves and branchlets are concerned, in the key to Section Omorica. The cones of these three species are much alike. Those of Picea sitchensis, however, have scales oblong in outline, with their upper edge scarcely emarginate or erose; the bracts are large and visible between the scales towards the base of the cone. In the other two species the scales of the cones are oval with erose margins, while the bracts are minute, concealed, and differently shaped.
The cones of Picea Alcockiana differ considerably from those of the three preceding species. Their scales are rounded, being nearly semicircular in outline, with the upper edge almost entire or only minutely denticulate; and their outer surface is markedly striated.
Distribution
Picea hondoensis is confined to the central chain of mountains in the main island of Japan, occurring at altitudes above 4000 feet. Shirasawa (loc. cit.) mentions as localities, Fuji, Mitake, Novikura, Sirane to Nikko, Chokarsan to Ugo, etc.; and says that in the lower levels it is accompanied by Tsuga diversifolia, and ascends to 8000 feet in company with Abies Veitchii. Mayr states that on Fuji it is accompanied by Picea bicolor (Alcockiana), both occurring in mixed woods with Larix leptolepis and Abies Veitchii. Farther north, Picea polita joins the two spruces just named; and all three reach their northern limit in the high mountains of Iwashiro at 38° lat. Its southern limit is 35° lat.
Elwes saw very little of this tree in Japan, but near the top of the Wada-toge pass there were some small spruces growing at about 4500 feet elevation, which he believes to have been this species. Tohi is the Japanese name.
Introduction
Picea hondoensis was introduced in 1861 by John Gould Veitch. It was distributed as Abies Alcoquiana, an unfortunate circumstance, due to the fact that the seeds of the two spruces growing on Fujiyama (Picea hondoensis and Alcockiana) were both collected for Mr. Veitch by natives and were mixed together. Dr. Masters cleared up the question as to the distinctness of these two species in an article in the Gardeners' Chronicle,[1] in which, however, he retained the name Picea ajanensis for the spruce, which Mayr afterwards separated as Picea hondoensis. If
- ↑ Gard. Chron. 1880, i. 115, and ii. 427.
