22S OCTANDRIA— MONOGYNIA. Daphne. 



218. DAPHNE. Mezereon, and Spurge- 

 laurel. 



Linn. Gen. 192. Juss. 11. Fl. Br. 420. Lam. t. 290. 



Thymelcea. Tourn. t. 366. GcEvtn. t. 39. 



Nat. Ord. Vepread^. Linn. 31. Thijmelacs. Juss. 25. 



Cal. inferior, of 1 leaf, tubular, withering; tube cylindrical, 

 coriaceous, longer than the limb, imperforate at the base, 

 containing the stamens ; limb in 4- deep, ovate, spreading, 

 coloured segments. Pet. none. Filam. short, in 2 rows, 

 from about the middle of the tube. Anth. roundish- 

 oblong, of 2 cells, simple, contained within the tube. 

 Gm?2? superior, ovate. %/^ very short, terminal. Stigma 

 capitate, depressed, entire. Berry oval, of 1 cell. Seed 

 solitary, pendulous, oval, large, with a thin brittle skin. 



Shrubs, with a silky inner bark. Leaves simple, undivided, 

 entire. Fl. highly fragrant. Whole plant generally in- 

 tensely acrid and dangerous. 



\,Y). Mezereum. Common Mezereon, Spurge-olive. 



Flowers naked on the stem, sessile, about three together. 

 Leaves lanceolate, deciduous. 



D Mezereum. Linn. Sp. PI. ^09. mild. v. 2. 415. Fl.Br.420. 



Eno-l Bot. r. 20. ^. 138 1 . IVoodv. Med. Bot. t. 23. Meyrick Misc. 



Bot't.l. Purtonv.S.33. Fl. Dan. t.26S. Bull.Fr.tA. Ehrh. 



PL Of. 3\3. 

 Daphnoides. Matth. Valgr. v. 2. 557./. Camer. Epit. 931. f. tucks. 



Hist. 221. f. 

 D. vulgare. Gesn. Fasc. 1. 9. ^ 3./. 10. 

 Thymeleea. Trag. Hist. 951./. 

 Th. n. 102 4. Hall. Hist. v. 1. 438. 



In woods, but rare. 



Near Andover plentifully. Miller. At Laxfield, Suffolk. Mr. Wood- 

 ward. In Needwood forest, Staffordshire ; Mr. Pitt. Withering. 

 At Eastham and Stanford, Worcestershire. Uev. E. Whitehead. 

 Near Appleton, Berks. Professor Williams. In Witch -wood 

 forest, Oxfordshire ; Mr. Isaac ^\1-leeler of Oxford. Purton. 



Shrub. March. 



Stem bushy, 4 or 5 feet high, with upright, alternate, smooth, 

 tough and pliant branches ; leafy while young. Leaves scat- 

 tered, stalked, lanceolate, smooth, 2 inches long, appearing 

 after the flowers, and soon accompanied by flower-buds for 

 the next season. Fl. highly, and to many persons too power- 

 fully, fragrant, seated in little tufts on the naked branches, with 

 several brown, smooth, ovate bracteas underneath. Calyx like 



