834 



MYRTACE^. XXVL Jossinia. XXVII. Myrtus. 



Eugenia tinifolia, Lam. diet. 3. p. 204. Perhaps sufficiently 

 distinct from/, huxifolia. Pedicels 3-4 lines long. 

 TinuS'leaved Jossinia. Tree or shrub. 



) 



130.) pedicels axillary, solitary, 1 -flowered, shorter than the 

 leaves, bibracteolate at the apex ; leaves small, elliptic-ovate, 

 acute, coriaceous, veinless, glabrous ; branchlets hairy ; calyx 

 4-lobed; stamens 8. T? • S. Native of Peru. Leaves 3-4 



coriaceous, glabrous, on very short petioles, with reflexed mar- lines long. Petals ciliated. Berry subglobose, 2-3-celled. 

 gins, pale beneath ; pedicels solitary, slender, shorter than the 

 leaves, exactly axillary ; calyxes clothed with silky velvety 



M 



Allied 



down. T; 



Native of the Island of Bourbon, on the moun- 



e/le commun. Eug* 



Lam. diet. 8. p. 204. Myrtus Borbonica, Spreng. syst. 2. p. 481, 

 Pedicels 7-8 lines long. Flowers small. Fruit unknown. 

 Box-leaved Jossinia. Shrub. 



7 J. coTiKiFOLiA (D. C. 1. c.) Icavcs ovate or roundish, obtuse, glabrous ; flowers 4-cleft, octandrous. 1? 



rather coriaceous, with somewhat revolute margins, on very short 

 petioles, full of pellucid dots, glabrous on both surfaces, pale 

 beneath ; pedicels 1-3 together, axillary, or supra-axillary, very 

 slender, a little shorter than the leaves. Tj . S. Native of the 

 Island of Bourbon, on the mountains. Eugenia cotinifolia, 

 Jacq. obs. 3. p. 3. t. 53. Myrtus cotinifolia, Spreng. syst. 2. 

 p. 481. exclusive of the country. Leaves an inch long. Pedi- 

 cels 8-10 lines long ; in some specimens always solitary. 



Cotinus-leaved Jossinia. Shrub. 

 \ 8 J. CAssiNoiDEs (D. C. 1. c.) Icavcs ovate, acutish at both 

 ends, coriaceous, glabrous, full of pellucid dots ; pedicels 2-3- 

 together, filiform, shorter than the leaves ; lobes of calyx 

 roundish. Tj. S. Native of Madagascar^ Eugenia cassi- 

 noMes, Lam. diet. 3. p. 205. Myrtus cassinoides, Sprene. svst. 

 2. p. 481. ^ ^ J 



Cassine-like Jossinia. Tree. 



Cult. All the species of Jossinia are worth cultivating, for 

 the sake of their beautiful foliage, as well as for their flowers. 



Seeds few, rather reniform. 

 to M. nummularia* 



r 



Whirtle-berry-like Myrtle'. Sh. 1 ft. 

 ' 3 M. MYRsiNoiDEs (H. B. ct Kuuth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 

 132.) pedicels axillary, solitary, 1-flovvered, bibracteolate at the 

 apex ; leaves small, obovate, somewhat emarginate, rather co- 

 riaceous, reticulated, shining, and are as well as the branches 



Native of Peru, 

 in cold parts between Ayavaca and Guancabamba. A much- 

 branched shrub. Leaves 4-5 lines long. Fruit unknown. 



Myrs 

 4 M. 



M. 



Sh. 6 ft. 



t. 4.) pedicels axillary, 1 -flowered, shorter than the leaves, 

 bearing 2 bracteoles under the flowers ; leaves oval, acute, 

 coriaceous, glabrous above, and clothed with adpressed silky 

 down beneath ; calyx 4-cleft, hairy. Tj ■ S. Native of the 

 cold mountains of Saragura, near Loxa. Habit of Phylica or 

 Erica. Petals white, ciliated. Margins of leaves revolute, 4 

 lines long. Berry red, globose, 2-3-celled. Ovula 2-4 in each 

 cell. Embryo like that oi E. communis^ according to Kunth. 

 Small-leaved Myrtle. Sh. 3 ft. 



« « 



left 



which are rather large and white. Their culture and propaga- 

 tion are the same as that recommended for Psidium^ p. 833. 



XXVII. MY'RTUS (from fivpoy, myron^ perfume ; fivproQ of 

 the Greeks ; Myrtus of the Dutch ; and almost the same m every 

 European language). Lin. gen. 617. Gaertn. fruct. 1. p. 184. 

 t. 38. D. C. prod, 3. p. 138.— Myr 

 Myrtus, Tourn. inst. t. 409. 



Lin. syst. Icosdndria^ Monogynia. l*ube 

 globose ; limb 5-parted, rarely 4-parted. Petals 5, barely 4. 



5 M. commu'nis (Lin. spec* p. 673.) pedicels solitary, 1- 

 flowered, about the length of the leaves, bearing 2 linear brac- 

 teoles under the flowers ; calyx 5-cleft ; leaves ovate or lanceo- 



late, acute. Tj 

 posed rocks. 



Native of the south of Europe, on ex- 

 Berry roundish, 2-3-celled. Seeds reniform. 

 Embryo arched, with a long radicle, and small, equal cotyledons. 

 Gsertn. fruct. 1. p. 184. t. 38. Lam. ill. t. 410. Duhara. ed. 

 nov. 1. p. 43. Corolla white. The common myr//e is well 

 species of Kunth. known as an elegant evergreen sweet-scented shrub, but unfor- 

 tunately just too tender to abide our winters in the open air, 

 without some protection. It was a great favourite among the 



tamPn^'frPP TrIv/. 9% 11^^ -^-parieu. reta.s 0, rarely 4,. ancients, and was sacred to Venus. i^/« 



limb of the c;iv^ i!:i • "'"^ ^ f °'?.' ''°^"'? ^^ '^' '^'^ br°-« «f ^l«°dless victors, and were the symbol of autho- 



tu^e rare V so i^ta;v bont rZ^''^ '^ f "p^^l" ""^'^ """/ ^'^^ ^^' magistrates at Athens. Both branches and berries were 



shorter than the radicle. — Shrubs. 



lucid dots. Pedicels axillary, 1-flowered — In the most part of 

 the species the flowers and seeds are unknown, it is therefore 



.lyieaons, wnicn are much ancients. The myrtle was also one of their medicinal plants. 

 Leaves opposite, full of pel- All parts of it are astringent, but it is discarded from modern 



practice 



My 



F 



A great 



Sect. L 



Leucomy'rtus (XevKOQf white, and fivprog^ myrtos, 

 a myrtle ; in reference to the white flowers of the species). 

 D. C. prod. 3. p. 238. Flowers white. Seeds curved in the 



manner of a horse-shoe ; when mature disposed irregularly in 

 tiie cells. 



• Flowers 4-cUfi, with few stamens. 



1 M. NUMMULA^RiA (Poit, dict. 4. p. 407. cxclusive of the 

 country) pedicels axillary, solitary, 1-flowered, shorter than the 



j4. melanocdrpa (D. C. prod. 3. p. ZS9.) fruit blackish. This 

 variety of myrtle is frequent in the south of Europe, and m 

 gardens, where there are varieties of it with double flowers and 

 variegated leaves. 



Var. a, Romana (Mill. fig. t. 184. f. 1.) leaves ovate; pedi- 

 cels longer. The common broad-leaved or Roman myrtle. It 



/- 



because it flowers more 



freely in England than any other variety. 



Var. /3, Tarenlina (Mill, dict.) leaves ovate ; berries rounder. 

 The box'leaved myrtle. Flowers small, and open late in the 

 autumn. Leaves small. 



Var. y, Itdlica (Mill, dict.) leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute; 



1^«««o ix.'u * 1 A 1 .1 n 1 ,. , r^i. yy ^luuLu iiYiui, uicc.) leaves ovaie-iauccui 



eaves, bibracteolate under the flowers ; eaves roundish, shin- branches more ereci. The Italian or upright myrtle. 

 3ng, small, glabrous; stem creepmg; talyx 4-cleft. ^ . G. " - - •- ^ » .j 



(M 



) 



of^liwilnn ' r ''!?''^ °' ^^^^^^f I'^rh ^"t ^' '^' ^''^''' ^^' orange-leaved myrtle.-mLkv^. t. 1 1 4. 



ot Magellan. Gaud. ann. sc. nat. 5. t. 2. f. 5. Lucet-musque, " 



Pernet. voy. 2. p. 58. 



Money-wort-\AQ Myrtle. Sh. creeping. 



2 M. vaccinoIdes (H. B. et Kunth. nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 



ted. 



Var. e, Lusildnica (Lin. spec.) leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute. 

 M. acuta, Mill, diet.— Clus. hist. 1. p. QQ. f. 1. The Portugal 

 myrtle. The nutmeg myrtle appears to be only a variety of this. 



Var. 0, Belgica (Mill, dict.) leaves lanceolate, acuminated. 



1 



