496

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

Genus I.

ItttW

i?UO'NYMUS Tourn. The Euonymus, or Spindle Tree. Lin. Syst.Tetra-Hex-andria Monogyriia.

Identification. Tourn. Inst., t. 388.; Lin. Gen.,271.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 3.; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 3.Synoni/mes. Fusain, Bonnet de Pretre, or Bois h Lardoire, Fr. ; Spindelbaum, Ger.

Derivation. The word Eu6nymus is formed from the Greek, and signides of good repute; and SmithStates that it has been applied to this genus, or, at least, to the species E. europa^us, by antiphrasis,as this species is fetid in every part when bruised, and is esteemed poisonous. {Eng. Flora, i. p. 329.)The French word Fusain means a spindle, alluding to the use of the wood for making spindles.Bonnet de Pretre alludes to the form of the capsules, which, when opened, bear some resemblanceto a priesVs cap; and it is called Bois a Lardoire from the use made of the wood for skewers orlarding-pins. The German name is literally spindle tree.

^ 1. E. Europius L. The European Euonymus, or Spindle Tree .

Identification. Lin. Sp., 286.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 4.; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 3.

oynonym&$. E. vulgaris Mill. Dict. ; Prick-timber Gerard. ; Louse Berry, Dogwood, Gatteridgel ree; Fusain d’Europe, Bonnet de Pretre commun, Fr. ; gemeine Spindelbaum, Ger.

Derivation. The English name Prick-timber, or Prick-wood, alludes to the employment of the woodin making toothpicks and skewers, which were formerly called pricks j and it is called Dogwood,because a decoction of its leaves was used to wash dogs, to free them from vermin. The names ofGatteridge Tree and Gaitre Tree are derived from a Saxon word signifying a cover ; from thecapsule hanging, like a cover, over the fruit. It is called Louse Berry, because the powdered leavesand berries were formerly put on the heads of children to chase away lice.

Engravings. Smith’s Eng. Bot., t. 362.; Hayne Abbild., 1.16.; E. of Pl., 2912.; our fig. 164.; andthe piate of the tree in our Second Volume.

Spec. Char., tfc. Branches smooth. Leaves lanceolate-ovate, very finely sawed. Flowers about 3 upon onepeduncle; the petals oblong, rather acute. Lobes of thecapsule obtuse. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 4.) A shrub or lowtree, a native of Europe, in hedges and scattered woods;plentiful in Britain ; and, though seldom found in a wildstate exceeding 10 ft. or 12 ft. in height, yet, in somesituations, attaining, when cultivated, the height of 30 ft.and upwards. It produces its greenish white flowers inMay, and ripens its rose-coloured fruits in September.

Varieties.

¥ E. e. 2 foliis variegatis Lodd. Cat. has variegated leaves, but neverlooks healthy.

* E. e. 3 latifolius Lodd. Cat. has rather broader leaves than the species.

* E. <?. 4 nanus Lodd. Cat. is a dwarf-growing piant.

* E. e. 5 fructu albo Lodd. Cat. has white capsules.

Nos. 3. and 5. of these varieties are, in our opinion, alone worth culti-vating.

Descriptiori, §c. The roots are very numerous and whitish ; forming a densemass of network, and not extending"to a great distance from the stem. Thebranches are numerous and opposite; and the wood hard and fine-grained.The leaves and bark are acrid, poisonous, and fetid when bruised. The cap-sules are of a fine rose colour, except in the white-capsuled variety, and theseeds are severally invested with an aril of a fine orange colour. This lastcharacter is conspicuous in the white-capsuled variety, as the colour of thecapsule and that of the aril are in more direct contrast than in the species.

Geography, History, § c . This species is common throughout the middleand northern States of Europe ; it is found in abundance in Sweden, in thenortb of Germany, in France, and in Britain ; and it is also a native of Greeceand Italy. Tt was noticed by the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and thewood seems, from the earliest ages, to have been used for various domesticpurposes, more particularly for making netting-needles and Spindles; and itsuses in France and Germany, even at the present day, are very numerous. In