or those grown in England. Though at the time I did not think they were mature, yet the seeds contained in them have germinated and produced young plants, which in July were just putting forth their second whorl of leaves, but by the following May had increased very little in size, being much smaller than those of the same age from Swiss and English seed.
Plants were raised at Kew from seed received in 1881; and two, now growing in the cedar collection at Kew, have attained only 6 feet in height, and are remarkable for their singularly short leaves and stunted bushy appearance. A number of them were killed by the winter, having been planted out when too young, which seems to show that this variety is more tender than the Lebanon tree. (H.J.E.)
CEDRUS ATLANTICA, Atlas or Algerian Cedar
- Cedrus atlantica, Manetti,[1] Cat. Plant. Hort. prope Modiciam, Suppl. Secundum, 9 (1845); Ravenscroft, Pinet. Brit. iii, 217 (1884); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferæ, 409 (1900); Masters, Gard. Chron. x. 425, f. 53 (1891).
- Cedrus africana, Knight, Syn. Conif. 42 (1850).
- Cedrus Libani, Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 564 (1897).
- Pinus atlantica, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 137 (1847).
- Pinus Cedrus, Linnæeus, var. atlantica, Parlatore, DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 108 (1864).
- Abies atlantica, Lindley and Gordon, Journ. Hort. Soc. v. 214 (1850).
Young trees stiffer in habit than the Lebanon cedar, and with an erect leader. Branchlets not pendulous, covered with short dense pubescence. Leaves up to an inch (occasionally in cultivated specimens 1¼ inch) long, usually as thick as or thicker than broad. Cones shorter and more cylindrical than in C. Libani; scales 1½ inches in width, claw inflected.
Varieties
Var. glauca.—In the cedar forests of Algeria a certain proportion of the trees have glaucous foliage, the leaves being marked above with conspicuous white stomatic bands; but there is no other difference, and no foundation exists for the opinion, first mooted by Jamin,[2] that the glaucous variety constitutes a distinct species.[3] The glaucous tint is an essentially unstable character,[4] trees occurring in the wild state in which glaucous leaves appear only on some of the branches. This variety often arises in cultivation.
Beissner[5] mentions several varieties, which have been obtained in cultivation, as pyramidalis, columnaris, and fastigiata,[6] characterised by peculiarities of habit; and a variegated form in which the foliage of the young shoots is yellowish,[7] but so far
- ↑ Manetti gives the name only without any description, in the second supplement to his catalogue (1845), and not in the first supplement (1844) as usually stated. Endlicher first described the Atlas cedar from plants 6 inches high, sent in 1847 by Manetti from the Royal Gardens at Monza (Modicia) near Milan.
- ↑ Decaisne, Rev. Hort. ii. 41 (1853). Cf. Gard. Chron. 1853, p. 132.
- ↑ Cedrus argentea, Renou, Ann. Forest. iii. 2 (1854).
- ↑ Cf. Fliche in Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 564, note 2 (1897).
- ↑ Nadelholzkunde, 304 (1891).
- ↑ Var. fastigiata, a pyramidal form, with branches ascending like those of the Lombardy Poplar, originated as a seedling in Lalande's nursery at Nantes. Cf. Gard. Chron. vii. 197 (1890).
- ↑ Var. aurea, young foliage of a rich golden colour, which changes to the normal green of the species in the second year. This variety is mentioned by Kent, loc. cit.
