M 



R 



M Y R 



tifoUa Bclglca. C. B. 

 M\rtle. 



P. 469. Brocd-kaved Butc^- 



3. Myrtus {Acuta) lanceolato-ovatis acutrs. MynU 

 with fpear-Jhaped, oval, aaac-pointed leaves. Myrr'u^ 

 fylveftris, foliis acutlffimis. C. B. P. 469. IVlldAfyr. 

 tie with very acute-pointed leaves. ' 



4. Myrtus {Bcctica) foliis ovato-lanceolatis confcrcis 

 Myrtle with oval fpear-Jkapcd leaves growing in cMen 

 Myrtus latifolia Boetica 2 vel foliis laurinu-s ''con- 

 fertim nafcentibus. C. B. P. 469. Second broad-kcved 

 SpaniJIj Myrtle^ with Bay leaves growing in clujtas, Com- 

 monly called Orange-leaved Myrtle, ' * 



5. Myrtus {Italica) foliis ovato-lanceolacis acucis u- 

 •^''' ereftioribus. Myrtle with oval^ acute-pointed Jpear- 



6. 



end in obtufe points which are Indented : between the 

 leaves come out fomc oval katkins, which drop off, 

 fo that all the plants which I have feen have been 

 male, therefore I can give no account of the fruit. 

 'I^hefc retain their leaves all the year, but are too ten- 

 der to live through the v/inter in the open air in Eng- 

 land, fo muft be placed in the green-houfe in winter. 

 As thefe do not produce feeds here, fo they are pro- 

 pa[>atcd by layers, but they do not take root very 

 freely, fo that the plants are not very common in Eu- 

 rope at prefent \ for I do not find that the cuttings oi 

 thefe plants v/ill eafily take root, having made feve- 

 ral trials of them, in all the different methods ; nor 

 have the Dutch gardeners had better fuccefs, fo that 

 the plants are as fcarce there as in England. 

 When the layers are laid down, that part of the 

 fuoot which is laid fliould be tongued at a joint, as is 

 praftifed in laying of Carnations ; and the young 

 fhoots only fliould be chofen for this purpofe, for 

 the old branches will not put out roots, Thefe layers 

 are often two years before they v/ill have taken root 

 enough to tranfplant, for they fhould not be fepa- 

 rated from the old plants till they have made good 

 roots, becaufc they are very fubjed to mifcarry if they 

 are not well rooted. 



When they are taken off from the old plants, they 

 fhould be each put into a feparate fmall pot, filled 

 with foft, rich, loamy earth ; and if they are placed 

 under a common frame, Ihading them from the fun 

 in the middle of the day, it will forward their taking 

 new root •, then they may be placed in a Iheltered fi- 

 tuatlon during the fummer, and in the autumn re- 

 moved into the green-houfe, and treated in the fame 

 way as other plants from the fame country. The beft 

 feafon for laying down the branches, I have obferved 

 to be in July, and by the fame time the following V^< broad, of a lucid green, ftanding upon fhort foot- 



h 



Jhaped leaves^ and ereEl branches. Myrtus communis 

 Italica. C. B. P. 468. Cormnon Italian Myrtle^ calledtip- 

 right Myrtle. - ^ ' ■ . 1^ 



Myrtus {'Tarentina) foliis ovatis, baccis rotundio- 

 ribus. Myrtle with 



oval leaves and, roiuider herries. 



( 



Myrtus minor vulgaris. C. B. P. 469. Common /mailer 

 Myrtle^ called the Box- leaved Myrtle. 



7. Myrtus {Minima) foliis lineari-lanceolads acumina- 

 tis. Myrtle with linear^ fpear-Jhaped, ^cute-pointed leaves. 

 Myrtus foliis minimis & mucronatis. C. B. P. 460. 

 Myrtle with the fmalleft Jharp-pointed leaves^ commonly 

 called Rofemary-leaved Myrtle. 



8. Myrtus {Zeylanica) pedunculis multifloris, foliis 

 ovatis fubpetiolatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 472. Myrtle ivlth 

 7narry flowers on each foot-Jlalk^ and oval leaves having 

 jhort foot-jialks. Myrtus Zeylanica odoratiffima, bac- 

 cis niveis monococcis. H. L. 434. Svjeet fmeJUno- Myr- 

 tle of Ceylon^ zvithf/tozv white herries containing one feed. 

 The firft fort is the common broad-leaved Myrtle, 

 which is one of the hardieft kinds we have. The 

 leaves of this are an inch and a half lone, and one inch 



year they have been fit to remove. 

 The feventh fort is" a native 'of the Cape' of Good 

 HopeT'this hatha weak Ihrubby ftalk which rifes 

 five or fix feet high, fending out many long flender 

 branches, which are clofely garnilhed their whole 

 length with fmall heart-fhaped leaves, which fit clofe 

 to' the branchesj'and are flightly indebted and waved 

 "on their edges. The flowers come out between the 



*- leaves in roundifii bunches! thefe are male in all the 

 the plants I have yet feen ^ they have an uncertain 

 number of ftamina, and are all included in one com- 

 mon fcaly involucrum or cover."' Thefe flowers ap- 

 pear in July, but make no great appearance; the 

 leaves of this fort continue all the year green. 

 This is propagated in the fame way as the two for- 

 mer forts, and is dirficuk to increafe, {o is not com- 

 rnon in the European gardens. It requires the fame 

 'treatment' as the two former forts. 



MYRRHIS.* SeeCn/EROPHYLLUM, Scandix, Sison. 



My R. T U S. Tourn. Inft. R.H. 640. tab, 400. Lin. 

 Gen. Plant. 543. Myrtle; in French, Mirte. 

 The Characters are^ 



I 



t ■- .-. 



w --. ^.1*- 



The empalcment of the flower is of one leaf cut into five 



acute points at the top^ is permanent^ and fits on the 

 ' 'germen.\ The flower has five large oval petals which 



ere infcrted in the empalcment^ 'and a great number of 



fmall flarnina which are alfo inferted in the empalement^ 



terminated hy fmall fumynitsV The ger men is fituated 

 ■' " un^f^the flower^ fupporting a fiender flyle^ crowned by 



r^ an obtufe fxigma. ' The ge'rmen afterward turns to an 



'I'cval berry with three cells j crowned by the empalement^ \ . The fourth fort hath a fl:ronger ftalk^and branches 



each^ cell containing one or two^ kidney-fhaped feeds. 



ftalks^ The flowers are larger than thofe of the other 

 forts, and come out from the fide of the branches, on 

 pretty long foot-ftalks ; thefe are fuccecded by oval 

 berries of a dark purple colour, inglofing three or four 

 hard kidney-lhaped feeds. It flowers In July and Au- 

 ufl:, and the berries ripen in winter. This fort is by 

 brrle called the flowering Myrtle, becaufe it generally 

 has a greater quantity of flowers, and thofe are larger 

 than of any otl^er forc^^ . v . . , .1-^ .. ' * ' 

 The fecond fort has leaves much lefs. than thofe of the 

 former, and are more pointed, ftanding clofer toge- 

 ther on the branches; the midrib on the under fide 

 of the leaves is of a purple colour, they are of a 

 darker green, and fit clofer to the branches. The 

 flowers are fmaller, and have fliorter foot-ftalks than 

 thofe of the firft fort ; this flowers a little latyr in tKc 

 fummer, and feldom ripens its berries here. 

 The double flowering Myrtle I take to be a variety of 

 this, for the leaves and growth of the plant, the fizc 

 of the flowers, and the time of flowering, agree bet- 



f- . -i. 



ter with this than any of the other forts. 

 The third fort grows naturally in tlie fouth of France 

 and in Italy ^ the leaves or this are much fmaller 

 than thofe of the fecond, being lefs than an inch long, 

 and not more than half an inch broad, of 4" oval fpcar- 

 {hape, ending in acute points, of a dull green, and fee 

 pretty clofe on the branches. The flowers are fmaller 

 than either of the former, and come oiit from the 

 wings of the leaves toward the end of the branches j 

 the berries are fmall and oval. 



-• 



^ This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 

 '■ iLinn^us's twelfth clafs, in which is contained thofe 



plants whofe flowers have about twenty ftamina and 

 ; one ftyle. .. . . 



^ The Species are, 

 t/jyiYRTus (Communis) foliis ovatis, pedunculis longi- 



orltus. Myrtle witb oval leaves, and longer fcct-ftalks tc 



the Jlczvers'. Myrtus latifolia Romana. C. B. P. 468. 



Broad-leaved Roman Myrtle., or common broad-leaved 



2. Myrtus (5f/;^/Va) foliis lanceolatisacumlnatis. Myr-, 

 ile zvith fpecr-Jhaped Yicute-^ointed leaves. Myrtus la- 



than either of the former forts, and rifes to a greater 

 height ; the leaves are oval, fpear-fhaped, and are 

 placed in clufters round the branches ; thefe are ot a 

 dark green. ' The flcvers are of a middling fize, and 

 come out fparingly from between the leaves ; the 

 berrries are oval, and fmaller than thofe of the hrlt 

 fort, but feldom ripens in England. The gardeners 

 call this the Orange-leaved Myrtle, and by feme it^s 

 ftiled the Bay-leaved Myrtle. This fort is not iO 



hardy as the former. , , ,uU 



The fifth fort is the common Italian Myrtle jtms 

 hath oval fpear-fhaped leaves, ending in acute points . 

 the branches of this grow more ereft than thole ot a- 



\ 



