394 LAURACEX. (LAUREL FAMILY.) 
bearded at the apex ; drupe black. (Laurus Catesbyana, Michx.) — South Flor- - 
ida. — Shrub 6°- 9° high. Leaves 3/-5/ long. Fruiting pedicels club-shaped. 
2. SASSAFRAS, Nees. 
Involuere none. Flowers dicciously polygamous. Calyx 6-parted, spread- 
ing. Stamens of the sterile flowers 9, in 3 rows, all fertile, the 3 inner ones - 
biglandular at the base; those of the fertile flowers 6, sterile: anthers linear, - 
4-celled, 4-valved, introrse. Style subulate: stigma disk-like. Drupes blue, on - 
thick red pedicels. — Trees, with entire or 2 —3-lobed deciduous leaves, and 
greenish flowers in clustered racemes, appearing before the leaves. 
1. S. officinale, Nees. Leaves ovate, entire or 2—3-lobed, smooth or — 
pubescent ; racemes short, silky; flowers sometimes white. (Laurus Sassafras, 
L.)— Dry open woods and old fields, Florida, and northward. March.—A 
small tree, with spicy bark. D) 
* 
3. BENZOIN, Nees. Srice-Busu. 
Involucre 4-leaved. Flowers dicciously polygamous. Calyx 6-parted. Sta- : 
mens of the sterile flowers 9 (more numerous and rudimentary in the fertile : 
flowers), in 3 rows: filaments slender, the inner ones lobed and glandular at the E 
base: anthers ovate, 2-celled, 2-valved, introrse. Style short. Drupe obovoid, - e 
red, the pedicels not thickened. — Shrubs, with entire deciduous leaves, and dull - 
"s 
yellow flowers in lateral sessile clusters, appearing before the leaves. o 
1. B. odoriferum, Nees. Branches slender, smooth ; leaves oblong-0bo- 
vate, acute at the base, paler and pubescent beneath, soon smooth; cluster 
numerous, smooth. (Laurus Benzoin, Z.) — Banks of streams and low woods, dm 
Florida, and northward. Feb. and March. — A shrub 69—109 high, with spicy — — 
bark. Leaves 3!- 5/ long. vr 
2. B. melisszefolium, Nees. Leaves oblong, short-petioled, obtuse T = 
slightly cordate at the base, silky on both sides, as also the branchlets and M. 
clusters, at length smooth above; drupes obovoid. (Laurus pelissæfolia, ao 
Walt.) — Margins of ponds, West Florida to North Carolina. Feb. and March. = 
—A shrub 29-39 high. Leaves 1/—9/ long. bs 
4. TETRANTHERA, Jacq. xs 
Involuere 2-4-leaved. Flowers dicecious. Calyx 6-parted, deciduous. - 
mens of the sterile flowers 9, in 3 rows; those of the fertile flowers numerous 
and rudimentary : anthers 4-celled, 4-valved, introrse. Stigma peltate. Drup? 
globose. — Trees or shrubs, with entire leaves, and small flowers 1n clustered 
