340 YOUNGKEN— ON THE MYRICACEAE 



Table of Contents 



Historical Review ^^ 



Comparative Morphology of Seedlings 346 



Comparative Morphology of Roots 352 



Comparative Morpholog>' of Stems 357 



Comparative Morphology of Root Tubercles 368 



Comparative Morphology of Leaves 375 



Comparative Morphologj' of Inflorescences and Flowers 384 



Comparative Morphology of Fruits. The development of the fruits of M. cerifera 



M. Carolincnsis and M. Macfarlanei 386 



Taxonomy 389 



Comparative Distribution and Summary 392 



Synonyms 395 



Supplementary BibUography and List of Illustrations 397 



Historical Review 



The most ancient document containing any reference to the plants 

 of the Myricaceae is the Rhya, a Chinese compilation, written during 

 the Chou dynasty of Tsz Hia, a disciple of Confucius. 



To Valerius Cordus (1515-1544), a commentator of Dioscorides, is 

 attributed the first, mention in Europe of a plant of this group, made 

 in a simple enumeration of the names of plants in a posthumous publica- 

 tion of Conrad Gesner in 1561 (Gesner " Catalogus Plantarum, " p. 31). 



Lobel reported in his "Elaeagnos" a plant which he described at 

 length and which is none other than Myrica Gale. In the same work 

 Valerius Cordus created the name Myrica, but employed it for the desig- 

 nation of Tamarix, (p. 68, 1. 12-14). 



About the same period Chytraeus, enumerating the plants which 

 grew amongst the heaths of Mecklenburg, cited Myrica Gale, which he 

 named Teutona Myrtus. The document containing this information 

 is a piece of poetry entitled "Botanoscopium" recently found and pub- 

 lished by E. H. L. Krause. (Eine botanische Excursion in d. Rostocker 

 Heide vor 300 Jahr. in Arch. Ver. de Freunde d. Naturg, in Mecklenburg, 

 1879, p. 329.) 



In 1576 Lobel described and figured for the first time the male and 

 female plants of Myrica Gale which he named Gagel Germanorum. He 

 classed this species in the group of trees and shrubs alongside Vaccinium 

 and Oxycoccos and stated that it was called by the pharmacists Myrtus 

 Brabantia, the Germans naming it Gagel and the English, Goul or Goele. 

 He compared its resinous odor with the perfume of clover, indicated its 

 distribution over heath and forest areas and mentioned that it flourished 



