480 CXIV. THYMELACEiE. Dirca. 



June. — The whole plant is more or less oily, and is greedily devoured by cattle. 

 Sometimes called Buffalo Oil. 



3. NYSSA. 

 The name of a nymph, according to Linnjeus. 



Flowers dioecious-polygamous. cT Calyx 5-parted ; stamens 5 — 10, 

 inserted around a glandular disk; pistil 0. $ 9 Calyx 5-parted; 

 stamens 5 or ; pistil 1 ; drupe inferior ; nut 1 -seeded. — Trees. 



1. N. MCLTiFLORA. Walt. (N. villosa. Michx.) Pepperidge. Tulepo. Gum 

 Tree. — Lis. oblong, obovate, very entire, acute at each end, the petiole, 



midvein and margin villous ; fertile ped. 3 — 6-flowered ; nut short, obovate, 

 obtuse, striate. — This tree is disseminated throughout the U. S. ; it is found 

 30 — 70f! high, the trunk 1 — 3f ! in diameter, with horizontal branches forming 

 a pyramidal summit. The bark is light gray, similar to that of the white oak, 

 and, like the next species, broken into hexagons. Leaves tough and firm, 2 — 

 5' long, and ^ as wide, often with 1 or more blunt teeth. Flowers small, green- 

 ish, in small clusters on a long, branching peduncle, the fertile ones succeeded 

 by a few deep blue, oblong drupes. The wood is white, fine-grained, rather 

 soft, the texture consisting of interwoven bundles of fibres, rendering it very 

 difiicult to split. It is therefore useful for beetles, naves of wheels, hatters' 

 blocks, &c. Jn. 



2. N. AaL-ATiCA, (N. biflora. Walt.) Water Thdepo or Gum Tree. 



" Lis. oblong-ovate, entire, acute at both ends, smooth; fertile ped. 2-flow- 

 ered ; drupe short, obovate ; nut striate. — This tree grows in swamps, in certain 

 sections of the Northern and Middle States. The trunk when full grown is 

 30 — 50f high and 15 — 20' in diameter, the bark divided by deep furrows into 

 hexagons. Leaves alternate, smooth, 2 — 4' in length. Flowers small and 

 obscure, the fertile ones producing a fruit of a deep blue color, growing in 

 pairs on a common stalk which is shorter than the leaves. The wood is dark 

 brown, similar in quality and uses to the last. Jn." Michx. abr. 



Order CXIV. THYMELACE^.— Daphnads. 



Shrvhs with a verj' tenacious bark, alternate or opposite, entire leaves and perfect flowers. 



Cal. free, tubular, colored, limb 4 (rarely 5)-cleft, imbricated in aestivation. Tas many. 



Sta. definite, inserted into the calyx and opposite to its lobes when equal to them in nimiber ; often twice 



Ova. solitary, with 1 ovule. Style l. Stis^ma undivided. 



Fr. hard, dry, drupaceous. Albumen or thin. 



Genera 33, species 300, very abundant in Australasia and S. Africa, sparingly disseminated in Europe 

 and Asia. The only North American genus is that which follows. 



Properties.— The bark is acrid and caustic, rai.sing blisters upon the skin. It is composed of interlaced 

 fibres which are e.\tremely tough, but easily separable. The lace-bark tree (Lagetta) of Jfmiaica is par- 

 ticularly remarkable for this property. 



Genera. 



t obsolete. Stamens exserted. Dirca. 1 

 Corolla limb ( spreading. Stamens included. Daphne. 2 



1. DIRCA. 



Gr. SipKa, afoimtain; the shrub grows in wet places. 



Calyx colored, tubular, witli an obsolete limb ; stamens 8, unequal, 

 longer than, and inserted into the tube ; style 1 ; berry 1-seeded. — 

 IjVS. alternate.^ simple. Fls. expajiding before the leaves. 



D. PALUSTRis. Leather-wood. 



Lis. oblong-ovate or obovate; fls. axillary, 2 — 3 in a hairy, bud-like in- 

 volucre. — A shrub, 5f in height, when full grown, U. S. and Can. The flowers 

 appear in April and May, much earlier than the leaves. They are small, 

 yellow, funnel-shaped, about 3 together, issuing from the same bud. Leaves 

 entire, on short petioles, pale underneath. Stamens much longer than the 

 sepals, alternately a long and a short one. Berry oval, small, red. Every part 

 of this shrub is very tough. The twigs furnish " rods for the fool's back," the 

 hark is used for ropes, baskets, &c. 



