516 



AMYGDALACE^. V. Ceuasus. VI. Polydontia. SPIR^ACE^. 



Indies. Prunus occidentalis, Swartz, fl. ind. occ. 2. p. 925, 

 Catesb. car. 2. p. 94. t. 94. ? Flowers white. 



Occidental Bird-cherry. FL year. Clt. 1784. Tree 20 ft. 



43 C. Lusita'nica (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 5.) ra- 

 cemes erect, axillary, longer than the leaves ; leaves ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, serrated, glandless. ^ . H. Native of Portugal and 



Fl. May. Clt. 1759. 



Pennsylvania. Prunus Lusitanica, Lin, spec. 678. Mill. 

 131. t. 196. f. 1.— Dill. hort. elth. 193. t. 159. f. 193. 



fig. 

 Fruit 



Carolina Evergreen Bird-cherry. 

 Tree 20 to 30 feet. 



48 C. SALiciF^LiA (D. C. prod. 2. p. 540.) quite glabrous; 

 leaves oblong-lanceolate, ending in a very long acumen, sharply 

 serrulated, smooth, permanent ; calyx permanent, with the lobes 

 denticulated ; petioles furnished with 1 or 

 curved, b . S. Native of New Granada. 



2 glands ; style 

 Prunus salicifolia, 



H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 4. p. 241. t. 5Q3. Leaves like 



ovate, red when ripe. The Portugal laurel is one of the most those of Salix fragilis. Flowers white. 



elegant shrubs which we have in our plantations, especially when 

 planted in a proper situation and soil. The evergreen shining 



WilloW'leaved Evergreen Bird-cherry. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 

 49 C. FERRUGiNEA (D. C. prod. 2. p. 540.) leaves obovate, 



leaves and the long racemes of white flowers make altogether a permanent, on short petioles, retuse ; petioles and branches 



very striking appearance. It was brought to England from Por- 

 tugal, but whether it is a native of that country is doubtful. 



Far. /3, Hixa (Ser. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 540.) leaves larger ; 

 racemes more elongated ; flowers looser. Tj . H. Native of 

 TenerifFe, the Grand Canary, and Palma. Prunus Hixa, Brouss. 

 ex Willd. enum. 517. Prunus multiglandulosa, Cav. ann. sci. 

 nat. 3. p. 59. The lower serratures of the leaves are glandular. 



according to Willdenow. 



Portugal Laurel. Fl. June. 



Clt. 1648. Tree 10 to 20 feet. 



clothed with rusty velvety down ; racemes length of leaves. 

 ^ . S. Native of Mexico. Fruit unknown. 



Rusty Evergreen Bird-cherry. Shrub. 



50 C. Capu'li (Ser. mss. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 541) leaves 

 lanceolate, sharply serrated, glandless, glabrous. Tj . S. Native 

 of Peru. Prunus Capuli, Cav. ex Spreng. syst. 2. p. 477. 

 Perhaps the same as C. Capollln of Mexico. 



Capuli Evergreen Bird-cherry. Tree. 



Cult, All the hardy kinds of this genus are well adapted for 



44 C. lauro-ce'rasus (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 6.) shrubberies; they are generally increased by cuttings or layers, 

 racemes shorter than the leaves ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, re- which should be planted in September, in as sheltered a border 

 tnotely serrated, furnished with 2 or 4 glands beneath ; fruit ovate, 

 acute. T2 . H. Native of the Levant, Caucasus, the moun- 



as possible; some of them are raised more readily by seeds, as 

 the Portugal laurel. Ripened cuttings of the stove and green- 



tains of Persia, and the Crimea. Prunus Laurocerasus, Lin. house kinds root freely if planted in a pot of sand, with a hand- 

 spec. 678. Clusius received it in 1576 from David Ungand, then glass placed over them ; those of the stove species require bot- 

 ambassador from the Emperor of Germany at Constantinople, torn heat to make them strike root. 

 with some other rare trees and shrubs, all of which perished ex- 

 cept the common /auref and horse-chestnut. It was sent by the VL POLYDO'NTIA (from ttoXv, |?o/y, many, and ohvg 

 name of Trabi son Cumast or Date of TreUsond. The leaves have olovroQy odous odontos^ a tooth; calyx having more teeth than 



a bitter styptic taste, accompanied with a flavour lesembling that 

 of the bitter almond ; this flavour has caused them to be used for 

 culinary purposes in custards, puddings, blanc-mange, &c., and 

 as the proportion of the sapid matter of the leaf to the quantity 

 of milk is inconsiderable, no bad effects are produced. Laurel- 

 water is prepared, according to the Prussian pharmacopoeia, by 



other genera in the order). Blum, bijdr. 1104. 



LiN. SYST. Icosdndria, Monogynia. Calyx inferior, campa- 

 nulate, with a O-cleft deciduous limb. Petals 6, very minute, 

 inserted in the limb of the calyx. Stamens 12-18, nearly equal, 

 inserted with the petals. Ovary free, 1 -celled. Stigma peltate. 

 Drupe kidney-shaped, dry, 1 -seeded. Embryo exalbuminous, 

 inverted. — A tree 30 to 50 feet high, with alternate, oblong, 



drawing off* 3 pounds of distilled water from 2 pounds of the 



fresh leaves. See Amygdalus. _^ ^ ^ ^ m. ^ 



Common Laurel. Fl. April, May. Clt. the base. Racemes axillary and lateral, solitary or crowded. 



Cherry-laurel or 



Shrub 6 to 10 feet. 



quite entire, exstipulate leaves, for the most part biglandular at 



1629. 



45 C. sph^roca'rpa (Lois. 1. c. 5. 

 erect, small, shorter than the leaves; 



p. 4.) racemes axillary, 

 leaves glandless, quite 



. S, 



tomentose. Flowers small, furnished with I bractea each. This 



entire, shining; flowers distant; fruit nearly globose. T2 

 Native of Jamaica, St. Domingo, Hispaniola, and Brazil, in 

 woods. 



T2 . S. Native of 



Prunus sphaerocarpa, Swartz, fl. ind. 



but not of Michx. — Sloane, hist. 2. p. 9. t. 193. f. 1. 



occ. 2. p. 927. 



Wood 



very hard and white. Leaves 2 inches long and about an inch hand-glass, in heat. 



genus is hardly distinct from Amygdalus* 



1 P. ARBOREA (Blum, bijdr. p. 1105.). 

 Java, in mountain woods. 



Tree Polydontia. Tree 30 to 50 feet. 



Cult. A mixture of loam, peat, and sand will suit this tree ; 

 and ripened cuttings will strike root, if planted in sand, under a 



and a half broad, nearly round. Fruit purple when ripe. 



Round-fruited Evergreen Bird-cherry. Fl. June, July. Clt. 

 1820. Tree 10 to 12 feet. 



46 C. Brasihe'nsis (Cham, et Schlecht. Linnaea. 2. p. 542.) 



LXXXI. SPIR^A^CE^ (plants agreeing with Spir^y m 

 important characters). Ulm^rise, Vent. t. 3. p. 351.— Rosaceae, 



racemes axillary, shorter than the leaves, erect; leaves elliptic. Tribe III. Spirseacese, D.C. prod. 2. p. 541. ^ 

 acuminated at both ends, quite entire, with revolute edges, fur- Calyx 5-cleft (f Q5. a. f. 66. a. f. Q7. a.), imbricate in ^si^i- 



nished with a gland on both sides of the middle nerve at the 

 base beneath. \ . S. Native of Brazil. Drupe black. 



Brasilian Evergreen Bird-cherry. Tree. 

 47 C. Carolinia'na (Michx. fl.bor. amer. 1. p. 285.) leaves 

 on short petioles, oblong-lanceolate, mucronate, 

 coriaceous, almost entire ; racemes axillary, dense, shorter than 

 the leaves ; flowers rather large ; fruit nearly globose, mucro- 



Native of North America, from Carolina to 



Priinus Caroli- 



vation, with a disk either lining the tube (f. 67. h.), or surround- 

 ing the orifice, the fifth lobe next the axis. Petals 5 (f. 65. 0. 

 f. 66. h. f. 67. c), perigynous, equal. Stamens from ZO-50, 



nate. 1^ . H. 



Florida. Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 5. 



ni^na, Ait. hort. kew. 2. p. 163. Leaves about 2 inches long, 



\ of an inch broad, with a few indentures on their edges. Flowers 



white. 



p. Si »D.; leaves "" "v> r-^-a.?"^ — -> -n , . 



smooth, rather arising from the calyx or the disk, with the petals curvea in- 

 wards in aestivation ; anthers innate, 2-celled, bursting length- 

 wise. Ovaries superior, several together (f. 65. d.\ free tro 

 the calyx. Follicles or carpels several (f. 65. rf.), distinct, dis- 

 posed in a whorl, around an imaginary axis of the flower, usua J 

 5 (f. 65. d.) in number, but sometimes fewer from abortion, 

 apiculate by the styles, they at length become capsular, and open 



