Picea smithiana (Wallich.) Boiss.
Fully-hardy evergreen conical then columnar tree with spreading branches, pendant branchlets, sparse, 4-sided leaves, to 4cm long, arranged radially, and cylindrical, green then brown female cones, to 20cm long. To 30m. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Horticultural & Botanical History
Introduced to Europe in 1818. [PD]. ‘This tree seems to be allied to Tournefort’s Abies orientalis, and still more so to the specimen from China, figured in Mr. Lambert’s splendid Monograph, plate 29. It is however a distinct species, and as such I have dedicated it to the late immortal President of the Linnean Society.’ [Wallich pl.246/1832].
History at Camden Park
Listed in the 1850 and 1857 catalogues [C.6/1850]. Abies smithiana and Abies morinda were included among desiderata in a letter to John Lindley dated 15th February 1848 [MP A2933-1, p.157] and to Sir William Hooker on 11th February [MP A2933-1, p.165]. It was obtained from Kew Gardens, brought out from England by Captain P. P. King in 1849. Believed by Macarthur to be a new introduction to the colony. [ML A1980-3].
Notes
Published Jul 14, 2009 - 04:35 PM | Last updated Jul 29, 2010 - 03:23 PM
Family | Pinaceae |
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Category | |
Region of origin | Afghanistan to Nepal |
Synonyms |
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Common Name | Morinda spruce, West Himalayan spruce |
Name in the Camden Park Record | Abies Khutrow |
Confidence level | high |