CHAP. XCV.

THYMELA'CEiE. Ba'pHNE.

1307

Da'phne L. Calyx inferior, somewhat salver-shaped ; in most, of some othercolour than that of the leaves, and, from its shape and colour, resemblinga corolla: segments of its limb 4, deep, ovate, or oblong, imbricate in assti-vation. Stamens 8, in two rows; the filaments with but a short part distinctfrom the tube of the calyx ; the anthers not prominent beyond it. Ovarysolitary. Ovule solitary, pendulous. Style very short. Stigma capitate.Fruit an ovate carpel, pulpy externally. Seed 1, pendulous. Shrubs.Inner bark silky. Most of the kinds evergreen. Leaves entire, in mostalternate ; if not alternate, opposite. Flowers terminal or axillary, mostlyin groups, highly fragrant. The whole plant, in most, perhaps in all,intenselyacrid and dangerous. (Smith Eng. Flora ; Lindl, Nat. Syst.; Frown Prod.,and observation.)

Di'rca L. Calyx inferior, funnel-shaped, ending in 4 (Du Hamel has statedin the “ essential character” 5) unequal teeth : it is of a pale yellow colour,and hence, and from its figure, resembles a corolla. Stamens 8, arisingfrom the middle of the calyx, and prominent beyond its tip, unequal.Ovary solitary. Style thread-shaped, extending a little beyond the sta-mens. Stigma a simple point. Fruit a dry carpel. Seed 1, pendulous.D. palustris L. is the only species described; and is a low shrub, that hasupright branches, a very tough bark, and flowers 3 together. (Du Ham.,Dot. Reg., Lindl. N. S., and observation.)

Genus I.

-DA'PHNE L. The Daphne. Lin. Syst. Octandria Monogynia.

Identification. I.in. Gen., 192.; Juss. Gen. PI., 77.; Lam. Ill., t. 290.; Smith Eng. Flora, 2. p. 228.Synonyme. Thymete'a Tourn. Inst., t. 366., Gczrtn., t. 39.

Derivation. Daphne is asserted by Lindley, andsome other botanists, to have been the Greek nameof the Rfiscus racembsus, or Alexandrian laurel, into which it is fabled that Daphne was changed.“Why the name has been applied to the shrubs now called Daphne, it is not easy to say.” (Lindl. Bot.Reg., t. 1177.) It is stated in Rees’s Cyclopcedia, under Lafirus, that L. ndbilis “is certainlythe Daphne of Dioscorides , and, consequently, the classical laurel. It is still called by the samename among the modern Greeks;” this is also the popular belief (See St. Pierre’s E'tudes de laNature, Lempriere’s Class. Diet. , &c. &c.) Supposing the Daphne to have been the Laurus n6-bilis, or bay tree, it is easy to account for its being applied to this genus, the D. Mextreumbeing formerly called the dwarf bay in England; and nearly all the species retaining the names oflaureole and laureola in France and Italy .

Description, §c. Undershrubs, evergreen and deciduous, natives chiefly ofEurope , but partly also of the cooler parts of Asia , including Japan andChina . The odour of some of the species is very agreeable; and the bark ofall of them is acrid. They are all beautiful, and rather difficult to propagate,except by seeds. The price of plants, in the London nurseries, is from Is.to 2s. 6d. for all the sorts, except D. Mezereum, and D. Laureola, whichare 6 d. each.

A. Leaves deciduous.

m 1. D. MezFreum L. The Mezereon Daphne, or common Mezereon.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PL, p. 509.; Willd. Sp. PL, 2. p. 415.; Mill. Diet. , n. 2.; Smith Ena.

Flora, 2. p. 228.; Lodd. Cat. , ed. 1836. 8

oi/mnymes. Spurge Olive, Spurge Flax; Flowering Spurge, Parkinson ; Dwarf Bay, Gerard;Gaureole femelle, Bois gentil, Mezfereon, Bois joli, Fr.; gemeiner Seidelbast, or Kellerbalz,Ger.; Peperachtige Daphne, Dutch ; Laureola femina, Biondella, Camelia, Ital. : Laureola hem-bra, Span. ’

^this^hrub ^ ezereuni an< ^ Mezereon are said to be derived from madzaryon, the Persian name forEngravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1381.; CEd. FI. Dan., t. 268.; and our fig. 1180.

Spec. Char., fyc.. Leaves lanceolate, deciduous. Flowers distributed overthe branches in threes mostly, and in pairs and fours, expanded before theleaves are protruded. A native of the woods of northern Europe . ( Willd.,Smith, and obs.) Found in woods, but rare, in the south and west of