DENDROLOGY. 



195 



LAURUS. 



Enneandria Monogynia. Linn. Laurinae. Juss. Secernant, stimulant, 



stomachic. 



Red Bay. Laurus caroliniensis. 



This species of Laurel is 

 observed in the lower part 

 of Virginia, and it continues 

 to be seen uninterruptedly 

 throughout the maritime dis- 

 tricts of the Carolinas and 

 of Georgia, in the Floridas 

 and in Lower Louisiana. It 

 is known only by the name 

 of Red Bay. It is profusely 

 multiplied in the branch 

 swamps which intersect the 

 pine-barrhns. It is also seen 

 on the skirts of the great 

 swamps which border the 

 rivers and around the ponds 

 covered with the Laurus 

 cestivalis, or pond bush, that are met with in the barrens. A 

 cool and humid soil appears to be essential to its growth, for it is 

 never found in dry and sandy lands. It is also remarked, that 

 the farther south it grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its 

 vegetation. 



In favorable situations the red bay often attains the height of 

 60 or 70 feet, and from 12 to 15 inches in diameter : when 

 arrived at this stature, its trunk is generally crooked and divided 

 into several thick limbs, at eight, ten or twelve feet from the 

 ground. Upon old trunks the bark is thick and deeply furrowed ; 

 that of the young branches, on the contrary, is smooth and of a 

 beautiful green color. The leaves are about six inches long, 

 alternate, oval-acuminate, whitish or glaucous on the lower surface, 



PLATE LXIX. 



Fig. 1. A leaf. Fie. 2. A seed. 



