CHAP. XCIII. LAURA‘CER. LAU‘RUS. 1305 
£9. L.cenicuta’ta Michr. The knee-flexed-branched Laurel, or Bay. 
Identification. Michx. F1|. Bor. Amer., 1. as 244.; Pers. Synops., 1. p.450.; Walt. Fl. Car., p. 133. ; 
Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., I. p. 276. ; Bot. Mag., t. 1471. 
Synonymes. L. Euésmus geniculata Nutt. Gen., 1. p.259.; L. xstivalis Willd. Sp. Pl. 2. p. 484., 
according to Pursh. 
Engravings. Bot. Mag., t.1471.; and our fig. 1173. 
Spec. Char., §c. Branches divaricate and flexuous. Leaves cuneate-oblong, 
mostly obtuse, about 14 in. long, in many instances less than half an inch 
wide, entire, glabrous, except upon the under side near the base. Flowers 
in terminal small umbels, that are upon con- 
spicuous footstalks and smooth. Anthers 
unequally 4-celled. Sexes polygamous. 
(Nutt. Gen.,i. p. 259.) Nuttall adds that 
this kind grows from 8 ft. to 12 ft. high, 
and that the branches are flexuous, grey, 
smooth, and so remarkably divaricated as 
to give a characteristic appearance to the 
og which they border ; and that its native 
ocalities are, invariably, sandy swamps, and 
the margins of lagoons, from Virginia to 
Florida. Dr. Sims has noted that the 
zigzag direction and deep colour of the branches distinguish the L. geniculata 
at first sight ; and that he could not perceive in its bark any of the aromatic 
scent so remarkable in most of the genus, and which is so clearly percep- 
tible in L. Benzoin. Pursh states that the flowers are yellow, and the 
berries globose and scarlet. We received a plant of this species from Bar- 
tram’s Botanic Garden, in 1831: it appeared very distinct; but, owing 
to the crowded state of our garden, and the want of moisture, it died in the 
summer of 1834. Price of plants, at New York, 1 dollar. 
App. I. Half-hardy Species of Lauraceae. 
Cinnamdmum Camphora Swt. Latirus Camphora L., the Camphor tree, (N. Du Ham, 2. t. 35. ; 
Bot. Mag., t. 2658.°; and our jig.1174.) is a native of Japan, and other parts of Eastern India, where 
it grows to the height of the European lime tree. and makes a fine appearance, from its glossy 
shining leaves. The wood is white, with reddish waxy 
leaves, and the odour of camphor is exhaled from it, and 
from every other part of the plant. Camphor, and camphor 
oil, are well known medicines, which are obtained from 
this tree. Camphor is considered one of the principal 
diaphoreties, and is of a particularly subtile and penetrating 
nature, quickly diffusing itself through the whole human frame. — It is used in a great variety of 
medical preparations, Camphor is obtained from the tree. by splitting the wood into small pieces, 
and distilling it with water in an iron retort, covered with an earthen or wooden pot, in the hollow 
of which hay or straw is placed, to which the camphor adheres as it rises with the steam of the water. 
It is at first of a brownish white, and in very small particles, but, after being redistilled, it is com- 
pressed into the lumps which we see in the shops. e camphor used in Europe is chiefly imported 
from Japan. Camphor oil is obtained by making an incision in the trunk of the tree, and inserting 
a small tube of reed, through which the sap exudes, from which the oil is obtained by skimming. 
In British gardens the camphor tree is commonly kept in green-houses or cold-pits ; and we have no 
doubt whatever, that, with a moderate degree of protection, it would live against a conservative wall. 
C. vdrum Swt.; Ladrus Cinnamdmum L.; L. Cassia Bot. Mag., 1656.; and our fig. 1175. ; the 
