2520

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

Synonymes. R. angustifblius, &c., Town. Inst., 79. ; /fypogldssum Lob. Ado., 284. ; Laurus alex-andiina, functo pediculo insidente, Bauh. Pin., 304., Rati Hist. y 663. l.j Uvuldria Rrtm/., 3. 96,97.; Fragon k Foliole, Fr. j Zungen Mausedorn, Ger.

Engravings. Lob. Adv. Ic., 638.; Barrel. Ic., 260. ; Schk. Han., 340.; Blackw., t. 128.

Spec. Char., §c. Leaves floriferous underneath, with a leaflet. ( Willd.)Root like the preceding. Stems about 10 in. high. Leaves lanceolate,about 3 in. long, and 1 in. broad in the middle, drawing to a point at bothends, and having several longitudinal veins running from the footstalk tothe point. They are mostly alternate, but sometimes opposite. On themiddle of the upper surface comes forth a small leaf of the same shape ;and at the same point, from the bosom of the small leaves, about April orMay, come out the flowers, which are of a pale yellow, and have peduncleslonger than themselves. The berries are almost as large as those of R.aculeatus : they are red, and ripen in winter. Seeds one or two, bony,hemispherical. A native of Italy, Idria, Hungary; and found in Africa,about Algiers. It was cultivated by Gerard, in 1596. There are plantsat Messrs. Loddiges’s. Desfontaines considers this as a variety of R. hvpo-phyllum, diflering only in the narrowness of the leaves, and in the flowersemerging from the middle of the leaf, under a leaflet.

«. 4. R. racemo'sus. L. The racemose Ruscus, or Alexandrian Laurel.

Identification. Lin. Sp., 1474., Syst., 896.; Reich., 4. 285.; Mart. Mill., No. 5. ; Ait. Hort. Kew.,ed. 2., 5. p. 421.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonymes. R angustifdlius, fructu summis ramulis, &c., Tourn. Inst., 79., Du Ham. Arb.,b. \Fragon k Grappes, Fr. ; Trauben Mausedorn, Ger.

Engravings. Dend. Brit., t. 145. j our fig. 2389. to our usual scale; and fig. 2390. of the naturalsize.

Spec. Char., Sfc. Flowers hermaphrodite, produced at the ends of thebranches. (Willd.) Roots like those of the other species. Stalks slender,and much more pliable: they rise about 4 ft. high,and send out many side branches. Leaves oblong,acute-pointed, about 2 in. long, and^ in. broad; rounded at the base,smooth, of a lucid green, placed al-ternately, and sessile. Flowers inlong bunches at the ends of thebranches; of a greenish-yellow co-lour. Berries like those of R.aculeatus, but smaller; fleshy,smooth,red, with a round coriaceous whitedisk at the base; ripening duringwinter. They are 3-celled, eachcell containing one seed; but all thecells, except one, are frequentlyabortive; from which circumstance2389 the berry often appears 1-celled.

A native of Portugal, cultivated by Miller in 1739.

According to some, this species is supposed to be theplant with which the ancients crowned their victors; but, though the stalksare flexible enough to wreath easily, and the leaves resemble those re-presented on ancient busts, yet the fruit, being terminal, does not agreenearly so well with the fruit represented in the crowns on these busts asthat of the Laurus nobilis, which is axillary, and resembles that shown inthe coronal wreaths.

R. androgynus Lin. Sp., 1474., Ait. Hort. Kew., No, 4., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, Bot. Mag., 1898.,has the leaves floriferous on their margins. Itis a native of the Canary Islands, and was cultivatedbefore 1713, in the Royal Gardens at Hampton Court. It is a twining shrub, rising to the heightof 7 ft. or 8 ft., and is one of the oldest inhabitants of our green-houses; where, when planted inthe ground, and allowed to twine round a rod, it produces a fine effect by its numerous smooth shiningleaves, which in the shade become very dark, and pale green when fully exposed to the light. Theflowers are white, and are produced in clusters on the edges of the leaves. The berries are round ;at first, green, then yellowish, and finally red. They are smaller than those of Ruscus aculeatus, andare not produced in great abundance,' though the flowers are numerous, and continue to appearduring great part of the summer. As the main source of vitality, in all plants of this genus, is