344 YOUNGKEN— ON THE MYRICACEAE 



In 1803, Michaux ("Fl. Am. Bor. 2 p. 228") described a small leaved 

 variety of M. cerifera L. which he named var. pumila. 



In Miller's "Gardener's Dictionary" appearing in 1807, Vol. 2, part 

 1, nine species of plants are enumerated under the genus Myrica. Of 

 those indigenous to the Eastern United States, Myrica cerifera is des- 

 cribed as rising to a height of 8 to 10 ft. with stiff leaves nearly three 

 inches long and one inch broad in the middle, smooth, entire, of a yellow- 

 ish-lucid green on the upper side, but paler on the under, alternate, 

 subserrate; male and female flowers on different plants; male catkins 

 about an inch long, erect; female flowers coming out on the side of the 

 branches in long bunches, and succeeded by small rounded berries covered 

 with a sort of meal. Myrica CaroUnensis is said not to rise as high as 

 M. cerifera L. to have branches not so strong and with grayish bark. 

 Its leaves are said to be shorter, broader and serrate, in other respects 

 like those of M. cerifera L. 



In his "Introduction to Botany" published in 1836, Lindley named 

 the family Myricaceae. 



In 1864, Casmir De Candolle (Prodromus Vol. 16, p. 147) grouped 

 the genera Myrica and Leitneria under the family Myricaceae and divided 

 the genus Myrica into four sections, viz.: Gale, Comptonia, Faya and 

 Subfaya. 



Engler in 1894 (Pflanzenfamilien 3 pt. 1, 27) divided the genus Myrica 

 into three sections, viz.: Morella, Gale and Comptonia. He stated the 

 characters of each section as follows: 



1. Morella: — Flowers dioecious or monoecious, staminate flowers 

 subtended by 2 to 4 or numerous scale like bractlets or ebracteolate ; 

 pistillate flowers solitary or in from 2 to 4 flowered clusters, subtended 

 by two bractlets persisting under the fruit. Pericarp, papillose, covered 

 with a warty secretion, or rarely succulent and fleshy, leaves serrate or 

 rarely entire. 



2. Gale: — Flowers dioecious; pistillate flowers subtended by two 

 accrescent bractlets, forming lateral wings on the fruit, pericarp smooth 

 and resinous, leaves serrate. 



3. Comptonia: — Flowers usually monoecious; pistillate flowers sur- 

 rounded by 8 linear subulate bractlets, accrescent and forming a spiny 

 involucre in the fruit. Pericarp smooth, resinous and lustrous. Leaves 

 pinnatifid. 



Engler joined the family Myricaceae to the Leiineriaceae to form the 

 alliance of Myricales which he placed after the Piperales and Salicales 

 and before the Balanopsidales and Juglandales. 



