•125. rim fp iîa liis com m ù n is.
A. c. 2 dulcís Dec., Lam. 111. t. 430. The sweet Almond. Amandier
a petits F ru its, Amande douce, F r .; susse Mandel, G e r.— Leaves
grey-green. Flowers protruded earlier than the leaves. Styles much
fonger than the stamens. F ru it ovate-compressed, acuminate. Shell
hard. Kernel sweet-flavoured. Cultivated in (he same places as the
preceding sort, and generally propagated by grafting standard high on
the b it.er almond o r any strong-growing seedling almonds, in order
to make sure ot th e in iit being sweet.
A. c. 3 flòre pièno Baum. Cat. has double flowers.
A. c. 4 foliis variegàtis Baum. Cat. has variegated leaves
A .c . & fragilis Ser., Dec. P ro d . 2. p. 531. A. fragilis H e ll 1. p 500 •
Amandier des Dames, N . Du Ham. 4. p. 113., Noisette Jard. Fruit.
p. 7. ; (mque molle, Amandier à Coque tendre, Fr. ; Abelian Pro-
»«/f.^.—p’lowers protruded at th e same time as th e leaves, and o f a
(lale rose colour. Pe ta ls broader, and deeply emarginate. Leaves
s h o rte r; th e petioles thick. F rm t a cum in ate ; shell s o ft: kernel
sweet-flavoured. Cultivated for its fruit.
A c. 6 macrocarpa Ser., Dee. Pi-od. 2. p. 531. Amandier à gros
F ru its, N .D u Ham. 4. p. 112., Noisette Jard. Fruit, p. 7. ; Amandier
Sultane, Amandier des Dames, Amandier Pistache, PV.— Leaves
broader, acuminate, scarcely grey. Peduncles short, turgid. Flowers
ot a very pale rose colour, large, protruded before the leaves. Pe ta ls
hroadly obcordate, waved. F ru it large, umbilicate a t th e base, acuminate
a t th e tip ; shell hard. There are two subvarieties, one with
to e fruit ra th e r smaller, called, commonly, in France, Amandier Sul-
ta n e ; and another, with th e fruit still smaller, called the re Amandier
P is ta c h e ; th e kernels o f both o f which are considered remarkably
delicate, and are preferred for th e table. ' The flowers o f this variety
are .dways produced earlier than those o f any o th e r ; and the kernels
o f th e fruit are a w a p sweet. In British gardens, th e A. c. macrocarpa
has much th e largest flowers o f any o f th e varieties. I t is :i
vigorous large tree, o f rapid growth, somewhat more fastigiate than
th e species.
¥ A. c. 7 \iersicòides Ser., Dec. P ro d . 2. p. 531 Amandier-Pêcher, A'.
D u Ham. 4. p. 114., Noisette Jard. Fruit, p 7. — Leaves similar to
those o f th e peach tree. F ru it ovate, obtuse ; its husk slightly succulent
; th e shell o f a yellowish dark colour, and th e kernel .sweet-
flavoured. D u Hamel has stated th a t its fruits vary upon th e same
branch, from ovate, obtuse, with th e husk ra th e r fleshy, to ovate,
compressed, acuminate, and th e husk dry. Cultivated in F ran c e and
Italy for its fruit, b u t rarely found in B ritish gardens.
Other Varieties. T h e almond, considered as a fru it tre e , ha s given rise to
some o ther varieties, which will be found tre a ted o f a t length in F ren ch works
on gardening, in th e Nouveau D u Hamel, and th e Nouveau Cours d’Agriculture
There are several varieties o f th e almond in cultivation on th e Continent
for their fruit ; and two or th re e in this country, partly for the same purpose,
but chiefly for th e ir flowers. T h e common almond, in a wild state, is found
sometimes with the kernels bitter, and at o th e r times with them sweet ; in
the same manner as th e Quércus hispánica, which, in Spain, though it generally
bears sweet and edible acorns, y e t sometimes produces only such as are
bitter. F o r this reason, in th e case o f th e almond, instead o f giving one form
as the species, we have followed DeCandolle, and described both th e bitter
and the sweet almond separately, e ith e r o f which may be considered as the
species, and classed them with the varieties.
áí 4. A. urienta'i.is Ait. T h e E a s te rn Almond Tree.
Identification. A it. H o r t. Kew., ed. 1. 1. p . 162., ed. 2. 3. p. 195. ; Dec. P ro d ., 2. p. 530. ; D o n ’s
Mill., 2. p. 482.
Synonyme. A. a rg é n te a Livm. B ic t. 1. p. 103., N . B i t H am . 3. p. 1)5,
hngravings. Lodd. Bot. Cat., 1 .1137. ; an d o u r 426.
Spec, Char., Liipcribctly evergreen. Branches
and leaves clothed with a silvery tom e n tum ;
petiole o f th e leaf short, th e disk lanceolate
and entire. L'lowers rose-coloured, and ra th e r
longer than those o f A. nana. Calyx cylin
tirically bell-shaped. F ru it tipped with a point.
{Dec. Prod.) A tall shrub o r low tree. L e vant.
Height 8 ft. to 10 f t . ; and, according
to Bosc, to f t , to 2 0 ft. Intro d u ced in 1756
Flowers ro se -co lo u red ; March and April.
Very striking, from th e hoary, or ra th e r silvery,
appearance of its leaves ; and it makes a haml-
some plant when budded standard high on the
42C. A . o rien tà lis .
common almond or the plum. I t flowers much less freely than th e common
almond; notwithstanding which, it well deserves a place in collections, on
account o f its fine silvery foliage.
G e n u s I I .
/-’E 'R S IC A Tourn. T h e P e a c h T r e e . Lin. Syst. Icosândria Monogynia.
Iden/ificaticn. T o u rn . In st., t . 400. ; Mill. D ic t. ; Dec. F l. F r ., 487. ; D o n ’s Mill., 2. p. 483.
Synonymes. .^mÿgdalus sp. o f L in . an d Juss. ; T ric h o c a rp u s Neck. E lem . No. 718. ; P ê ch e r, Fr. ;
Pfirschenbaum. Ger. ; Pesco, Jtal.
Berivation. So named from th e poach coming originally from Fersia .
Gen. Char. Drupe fleshy, with a gltibrotis or velvety apicarp, and liaving the
putamen wrinkled from irregular furrows. {Don’s M ill.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, detidtiotts ; conduplicate when young.
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