1414 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
which is edible, and, though small, is remarkably sweet, and said to be very 
wholesome. Some of the species, according to Descemet, are very orna- 
mental ; particularly C. crassifolia, the branches of which assume the character 
of a fan; and C. occidentalis, the branches of which droop like a parasol.. 
The wood of C. australis is valuable ; but that of most of the other species is 
too weak to be of any use in the arts. The leaves of all the species, like 
those of all the species of Diospyros, drop off almost simultaneously, and thus. 
occasion very little trouble to the gardener in sweeping them up. Propa- 
gated by layers or seeds. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each ; 
at Bollwyller, 1 franc; and at New York, 50 cents. 
¥1.C. austra‘uis L. The southern Celtis, or European Nettle Tree. 
Identification. Lin. Sp. Pl., 1478.; Mill. Dict., No.1. ; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. : 993,; Du Ham. Arb., ed. 
nov., 2. p. 34. t. 8.: Lam. U1, t. 884 f. 1.; Flore Frang., 3. p. 313,; Duby et Dec. Bot. Gallic., 
1. p. 421. ; Reem. et Schult. Syst. Veg., 6. p. 305.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 105. 
Synonymes. Lotus arbor Lob. Ic., 2. p. 186. ; Lotus sive Céltis Cam. Epit., 155. ; Lote tree; Mico- 
coulier austral, Micocoulier de Provence, Fabrecoulier, Fabreguier des Provengaux (see N. Du 
Ham.); Lotu, Ital. 
Engravings. Cam. Epit., ic,; Lam. Ill., t. 884. f. 1.; Scop. Del. Flor. Insubr., t. 18. ; St. Hilaire 
Livr., 27. t. 7.; Du Ham. Arb., ed. nov., 2. t.8.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 105. ; and our fig. 1252. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or acuminate, 
argutely serrated, unequal at the base, rough on the upper surface ; soft, 
from down, onthe under one. Flowers'solitary. Fruit black. Indigenous 
to the south of Europe and the north of Africa (Willd. Sp. Pl., and Reem. 
et Schult. Syst. Veg.), also to the west of Asia. A tree, growing to the 
height of 40 ft. Introduced in 1796; flowering in May, and ripening its 
fruit in October. 
Variety. Brotero, in his Flora Lusitanica, mentions a variety, with variegated 
leaves, that was found wild in Portugal. ‘ 
Description. A tree, from 30ft. to 40ft. high, with a straight trunk and 
branched head. The branches are long, slender, and flexible, with a grey 
bark, spotted with white, and covered with a slight down at the extremities. 
The bark of the trunk is dark brown. The 
leaves are of a dark green, marked strongly 
with the nerves on the lower side, and, when 
young, covered with a yellowish down. 
They are oval-lanceolate, terminating in a 
point at the summit, and at the base having 
one side prolonged down the petiole. The 
flowers are small, greenish, and inconspi- 
cuous ; and are produced at the same time 
as the leaves. The fruit, which, when ripe, 
is blackish, and resembles a very small 
withered wild cherry, is said not to become 
edible till the first frost (see V. Du Ham., 
vol. ii. p. 35.) ; and it hangs on till the fol- __< 
lowing spring. It is remarkably sweet, and) — 
is supposed to have been the Lotus of the - 
ancients, the food of the Lotophagi; whieh 
Herodotus, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus 
describe as sweet, pleasant, and wholesome ; 
and which Homer says was so delicious, 
as to make those who ate it forget their 
country. (See Odyssey, lib. ix. v.93.) The 
berries are still eaten in Spain;jand Dr. 
Walsh says that the modern Greeks are very fond of them. According 
to Dr. Sibthorpe, they are called, in modern Greek, honey berries. (See Hogg 
on the Classical Plants of Sicily, in the Journ. of Bot., 2d ser., p. 204.) The tree 
grows rapidly, more especially when once established, and afterwards cut 
down ; sometimes producing shoots, in the climate of London, 6 ft..or 8 ft. in 
length. It bears pruning remarkably well, at every age. Its leaves are very 
