Class XXII. Order VI. 



leaves, short, oblong-ovate. The fruit has a strong, penetrat- 

 ing, spicy scent. About the edges of Fresh Pond. April. 



MYRICA CERIFERA. L. Bayberry. Wax Myrtle. 



Leaves wedge-lanceolate, slightly serrate above ; 

 barren, aments loose ; fruit spherical, naked, dis- 

 tinct. Mich. 



The Bayberry grows in every kind of soil, and varies con- 

 siderably in size. The shrubs which grow in the moist woods 

 at Cambridgeport, are usually six or seven feet in height. 

 Leaves oblong-oval, entire, or furnished with a few remote 

 teeth. Flowers in short aments on the sides of the last year's 

 shoots. They have a peculiar, somewhat spicy taste. In au- 

 tumn the fertile twigs are surrounded with bunches of small, 

 crowded, greyish berries, which remain after the leaves have 

 fallen. The surface of these berries is covered with wax, 

 which is obtained by boiling them in water, until the wax sep- 

 arates and floats upon the surface. In the interior where these 

 shrubs are frequent, the wax is collected in considerable quan- 

 tities, and used for candles, an ingredient in ointments, and oth- 

 er purposes. 



HEXANDRU. 



274. SMILAX. 

 SMII/AX ROTUXDIFOLIA. L. Green Briar* 



Stem prickly, round; leaves unarmed, heart- 

 shaped, pointed, five or seven nerved. 



A hardy and very troublesome vine, climbing upon trees 

 and bushes, and forming, with its thorny branches, almost im- 

 passable thickets. Stem smooth, woody, strong, armed with 

 short, straight, rigid thorns, proceeding from the wood. Leaves 

 large, smooth, roundish-heart shaped, ending in a short point, 

 commonly five nerved. Tendrils very strong, from the top of 



