476 ODOROGRAPHIA. 



Var. B ferruginea. Leaves obloii<,r-lanceolate, under surface 

 rusty : l^owers somewhat contracted. Bot. Mag., t. 1952. 

 This variety flowers at a smaller size than the other 

 varieties. 



Var. € lanceolata. Leaves oblong-lanceolate ; flowers some- 

 times contracted. Alton, Hortus Kewensis, Ed. 2, iii., p. 

 329. Figured in Bot. Eep., t. r)18 as M. grandiflora. 



M. glauca, Lin. Spec, ed. 2, p. Too. Schkuhr, Botaniches hand- 

 buch, Xo. 1441, t. 148. Loddiges, Bot. Cab., t. 215 ; Bot. Mag., t. 

 2164. Michaux fils. Hist, des arbres forestiers de I'Am^rique 

 septentrionale, iii., p. 77, t. 2. Duhamel, traite des arbres, 2 ed., 

 ii., p. 223, t. 66. Bonpland, Descriptions des plantes rares, p. 103, 

 t. 42. Bigelow, American Medical Botany, t. 27. 



The leaves of this species are almost deciduous ; they are ellip- 

 tical, obtuse, and glaucous on the under surface. Flowers 9- to 12- 

 petalled, contracted, petals ovate, concave, w^hite or cream-coloured, 

 strongly scented. The height of the tree is usually from 15 to 20 

 feet. It is a native of Xorth America, in low., moist swampy ground 

 at a little distance from the sea, from Massachusetts to Florida and 

 Louisiana, especially in Xew Jersey and ( "arolina. In America this 

 tree is known by the names of White Laurel, Swamp Laurel, Swamp 

 Sassafras, Sweet Bay and Beaver tree. The last name is due to the 

 fact of the root being eaten as a great dainty by beavers, and these 

 animals are trapped by means of it. Kalm says these trees may 

 be discovered at a distance of 3 miles by the scent of their 

 blossoms, if the wind be favourable. It is beyond description 

 pleasant to travel in the woods at the flowering season, especially 

 in the evening. The trees retain their flowers for three weeks and 

 even longer. The berries are of a rich red colour, and hang in 

 bunches on slender threads. It has been remarked that the flower 

 never opens in the morning ; that the calyx falls off at the second 

 opening of the flower, but that the petals dry on. The scent some- 

 what resembles that of the lily of the valley, but more aromatic. 



M. longifolia, Sweet, Hortus Britannicus, p. 11 {M. glauca, var. 

 longifolia, Alton, Hortus Kewensis, ed. i.. ii., p. 251. Pursh, Flora 

 Amer. Septentrionalis, ii., p. 381. The " Evergreen Swamp Mag- 

 nolia," a very handsome tree, about 30 feet in height ; native of 

 Florida and Georgia. Leaves evergreen, elliptical, acute at both 



