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164 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Aria. I n winter, specimens of cultivated Sorbiis fennica show the following
characters represented in Plate 45 :
Twigs : long shoots glabrous, shining, dark brown, with a few scattered lenticels.
Leaf-scar crescentic, very narrow, set obliquely on a reddish brown, slightly projecting
cushion; it shows a varying number of bundle traces, 1 3, 4, or 5, and may thus be
distinguished from other species of Sorb us, as Pyrus Aucuparia has 5 dots on the scar,
while Pyrus Aria, intermedia, and latifolia have only 3. Terminal bud large, conic,
tomentose, especially at the apex. Lateral buds small, either appressed to the stem
or diverging from it at an acute angle. Bud-scales few, densely pubescent on the
outer surface, and ciliate in margin. Short shoots ringed, pubescent, bearing a
terminal bud. 2
DISTRIBUTION
The fotmfennica occurs plentifully in Scandinavia, where it grows wild, repro
ducing itself naturally by seed, and behaving as a true species. It extends in Norway,
according to Schiibeler, up to lat. 66 14' on the west coast as a wild plant, and in
Sweden up to 60 wild and 6 2" planted; it also occurs in Finland, but is not recorded
from other parts of Russian territory. In Central Europe it only occurs sporadically,
and apparently always in company with the parent species; it is recorded from
various mountain stations in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.
The hybrids which occur in the Isle of Arran have attracted much attention and
discussion. Formerly it was believed that Pyrus Aucuparia, Pyrus intermedia (var.
scandica), and Pyrus fennica, all occurred in a wild state. Koehne, 3 however, con
siders that (excepting Aucuparia) all the plants in question on the island are hybrids,
there being two sets, one typical fennica, while the other set comprises forms between
that and scandica. This view, which excludes one of the parents (viz. scandica),
implies that these hybrids, once established, may under favourable conditions reproduce
themselves naturally and behave generally as true species.
N. E. Brown says of this species that it is " rare and perhaps not indigenous
except in Scotland " ; but he has seen specimens from Kent, Sussex, Hants, Somerset,
Gloucester, Leicester, Stafford, Cumberland, Roxburgh, Arran, and Dumbarton.
He thinks that Arran seems to be the only truly native locality for this tree in the
British Isles, and believes that the Arran plant placed under intermedia is a form of
it. Watson, however, states in his Compendium, p . 510, that Borrer held it to be
wild in North Hants between Farnham and Farnborough, where it was observed
sparingly along with Aria and Auc^lparia, both more plentifully. A specimen picked
by James M'Nab in Darenth Wood, Kent, is, according to Watson, identical with
Arran specimens.
There is a fine tree on the edge of a shrubbery close to Wilton House,
Wilts, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke, about 50 feet by 5.
1 If the dots are not plainly visible externally, they can be seen clearly on paring off the epidermis of the scar.
2 The twigs in winter described above clearly show the hybrid origin of this species; the varying number of dots on the
scar, the pubescence and shape of the scales, etc. show the influence of Pyrus Aucuparia.
3 Koehne, Jour, of Bol. 1 897, p. 99. See also Rev. Dr. Landsborough's account of the Arran hybrids in Trims. Bot.
Soc. Edin. xxi. 56 (1897).
1
Pyrus
There is a tree at Williamstrip Park, Fairford, the seat of Lord St. Aldwyn,
which is in a decaying condition. It consists of a large stool measuring 8 feet at the
ground, with four stems about a foot in diameter by about 60 feet high. There is
also a tree at Arley Castle 50 feet high by 3 feet 5 inches in girth in 1905. One at
Bayfordbury is 40 feet by 5 feet 2 inches, branching at 4 feet into four stems, with
numerous ascending branches. At Aldenham Cottage, Letchmore Heath, Herts, is
a fine tree 44 feet by 6 feet 2 inches, with a bole of 6 feet. At Danson Park, Welling,
Kent, the residence of Mr. Bean, there is said to be a tree about 30 feet high, with
a girth of 12 feet 4 inches at \\ feet above the ground, described to be like a
large bush with seven main branches. (A. II.)