Gorihnila las'uuitli us. 



THE WOOLLY-FLOWERED GORDONIA. 



Hypericum lasianthus, 



Gordonia lasianthus, 



Gordonia a feuilles glabres, Alcee de la 



Floride, 

 Laiigsiielige Gordonie, 

 Loblolly Bay, 



Synonymes. 



Linnjeus, Species Plantarum. 

 ' LiNN'.iius, Mantissa Plantarum. 



De Candolle, Prodromus. 

 - MicHAux, North American Sylva. 



Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 



ToRKEY AND Gray, Flora of North America. 



France. 



Germany. 

 United States. 



Derivations. The specific name, lasiantfius, is derived from the Greek lasios, woolly, and anlhos, a flower. The Frencli 

 name Aide de la floride, siijiiifies Florida Allhea, or hollyhock, and the other name has reference to the smoothness of the 

 leaves. The German name signifies Long-peduncled Gordonia. 



Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pi. 58 ; Audubon, Birds of America, pi. clxvii. ; Catesby, Natural History of 

 Carolina, i., pi. 44. ; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, figure 93; and the figures below. 



Specific Characters. Pedicels axillary, usually shorter than the leaves. Leaves oblong, coriaceous, 

 smooth, serrated. Calyx silky. Capsules conoid, acuminated. Don, Miller^ Diet. 



Description. 



^^HE Gordonia lasian- 

 h H 1^ thus, in its native \^ 

 W 1^ country, is a beauti- ^^"^ 

 . ^ISl ful sub-evergreen tree, 

 growing to a height of fifty or sixty feet, with a [^ 

 diameter of eighteen or twenty inches. The trunk 

 is often straight, for the first half of its height, 

 and the small divergency of its branches gives it 

 a regularly fastigiate form ; but, as they ascend, 

 they spread more loosely, like those of other trees 

 of the forest. The bark is very smooth while 

 the tree is less than six inches in diameter ; but, 

 on old trunks, it becomes thick, and deeply fur- 

 rowed. The leaves are from three to six inches 

 in length, alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly 

 toothed, and smooth and shining on the upper 

 surface. The flowers are more than an inch 

 broad, white, and sweet-scented ; they begin to 

 appear about the middle of July, and continue to 

 put forth, in succession, during two or three months. This tree possesses the 

 agreeable singularity of bearing flowers when it is only three or four feet high. 

 The fruit is an oval capsule, divided into five compartments, each of which 

 contains small, black, winged seeds. 



Geography and History. This tree appears to be confined to the maritime 

 parts of the United States, from Virginia to lower Louisiana. According to 

 Michaux, tracts of fifty or one hundred acres are met with in the pine-barrens, 

 which, being lower than the adjacent ground, are kept constantly moist by the 

 waters collected in them after great rains. These spots are entirely covered 

 with this species and are called bay swamps. 



