Order 108.— LORANTHACB^E. 021 



8. find Can. An interesting shrub or small tree, 10 to 20f high. Leaves alter- 

 nate, petioled, those of the young shoots ovato-lanceolate, others with 3 largo 

 lobes. Fls. greenish-yellow, in clustered racemes at the end of the last year's 

 twigs ; drupe blue. Apr. — Jn. Every part of the tree has a pleasant fragrance, 

 and a sweetish, aromatic taste, which is strongest in tho bark of the root, 



3. BENZOIN, Necs. Spice Wood. (Named for its fragrance? 

 which is compared to that of the resinous substance, benzoin.) Flowers 

 dioecious with 4 involucratc scales ; calyx 5 to G-parted ; $ stamens 9, 

 in 3 rows, the inner lobed and gland-bearing at base ; anthers 2-celled ; 

 $ stamens 15 to 18, sterile, filiform ; drupe obovoid, on a pedicel not 



thickened. — Trees or shrubs with entire, deciduous lvs. and small, late- 

 ral clusters of yellow fls. preceding the lvs. 



1 B. odoriferum Nees. Lvs. obovaie-lanceolate, veinless, entire, deciduous ; fls. in 

 clustered umbels; buds and pedicels s-mooth. — A shrub G to 12f high, in moist 

 woods, U. S. and Can. Lvs. cuneiform and acute at base, 2 to 4' long, half as 

 wide, paler beneath. Fls. pedicellate, in small, sessile umbels, 4 or 5 from each 

 bud. Drupes red. May. (Laurus Benzoin, K) 



2 B. meilissasfdlium Nees. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, abrupt or cordate at base, 

 veiny, pubescent beneath; fls. in clustered umbels; buds and pedicels villous. — 

 Borders of shallow ponds or exsiccated swamps, S. States. Shrub 2 to 3f high, 

 with running roots and virgate shoots. Lvs. with prominent veins. Fls. about 

 3 from each bud. Drupes red Feb., March. (Laurus mellissajfolia Walt) 



4. TETRANTHERA, Jacq. Pond Spice. (Gr. rtrpa, four-fold, 

 uvOepog, flowery; four flowers in the umbel.) Flowers dioecious, in 

 little stalked umbels, with a 4 or 5-leavcd deciduous involucre ; calyx 

 4 or G-parted, deciduous ; $ stamens 9, in 3 rows ; anthers unequally 

 4-celled (2 cells above and 2 below); ? stamens 12 to 15 rudiments; 

 stigma dilated, 2-lobcd, smooth ; drupe naked. — Lvs. deciduous. Fls. 

 yellow, appearing before the lvs. 



T. geniculata Nees. Branches divaricate and geniculate ; lvs. small, oblong and 

 oval, nearly smooth, cuneato at base, mostly obtuse at apex ; umbellets terminal, 

 glabrous, on distinct pedicels. — In sandy swamps, borders of lagoons, Va. to Fla. 

 Shrub 8 to 15f high, with branches and branchlets remarkably crooked and strag- 

 gling forming an angle of 90° at every fork. Lvs. 1' to 18" long, 5 to 8'' wide. 

 Drupes red. Feb., Mar. (Laurus geniculata Walt.) 



Order CVIII. LORANTIIACE^E. Loranths. 



Shrubby plants parasitic on trees, with thick, opposite, exstipulate leaves. Fhxc- 



ors mostly duclinous, an adherent calyx of 4 to 8 lobes, with stamens of the same 



number, opposite the calyx lobes. Ovary 1-cclled, becoming a fleshy fruit with one 



albuminous seed. Fig. 37, D. 



Genera 25, species 400, mostly tropical in America and Asia, a few flourishing northward as 

 far as our latitude. They possess the remarkable property of planting themselves on trees and 

 •ubsisting on their juices. They arc slightly astringent. Bird-lime is formed in part from tho 

 viscid pulp of the fruit of the Mistletoe. 



PHORODEN'DRON, Nutt. Mistletoe. (Gr. <Jxop, a thief, divdpov, 

 n tree ; they live on stolen food.) Dioecious ; calyx 2 to 4 (mostly 3)- 

 lobed, lobes erect ; <5 anther sessile on the base of eaclt lobe, 2-celled, 

 the cells divergent ; $ calyx adherent to the ovary; stigmas sessile; 

 •tamens ; fruit a pulpy berry. — Herbage fleshy, yellowish green. Sts. 

 jointed, brittle, woody, firmly engrafted on the limbs of trees, especially 

 Oaks, Elms, Apples, &c. Fls. imbedded in the jointed rachis. 



