936 



arboretum and frutjcetum. 

 Genus 1. 



I'ART 111. 



CALYCA'NTHUS Lind/. The Calyca'nthus, or American Allspice. 

 Linn. St/st. Icosandria Polygynia. 



Jdentificalion. Lindl. in Bot. Reg., t. 404. ; Nces Nov. Act Nat Cur. Bonn., 11. p. 107. ; Dec. Prod., 



3. p. 2. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 652. 

 Synonymes. Calvcantiii sp. Lin., Lam., Willd. ; Biittnfer/'a Du Ham. Arb., 1. p. 114., not of Lin. ; 



Beurrdr/a Ehret. Pict., t 13.; Bastdrw Adans. I'am., 2. p. 294.; Pompadoira Buchoz ; Calycante, 



Fr. ; Kekh Blunic, Gcr. 

 Derivation. From kaltix, a calyx, and anthos, a flower ; the calyx is coloured, and resembles a 



corolla. The name allspice was given to it by the inhabitants of Carolina, from the strong aromatic 



smell of the bark. 



Description. Deciduous .shrubs, natives of North America ; propagated, in 

 England, by layers. De Candolle states that the removal of the terminal leaf 

 bud of a shoot causes the production of two new flower buds; and that by this 

 practice a succession of flowers during the whole summer may be obtained. 

 {Dec. Prod., iii. p. 2.) The price of the common kinds, in the London nur- 

 series, is lbs. per hundred, or 9d. each ; at Bollwyller, \\ franc ; and at New 

 York, from 37i cents to half a dollar. 



* 1. C. flo'riuls L. The flowery Calycanthus, or Carolina AUsjiice. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 71S. ; Nutt Gen. Amer., 1. p.312. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. 2. ; Don's Mill., 2. 



p. f)52. 

 Synonymes. C. stcrilis Walt. Car., 151.; sweet-scented Shrub, in Carolina; common American 



Allspice. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t 503. ; Du Ham. Arb.,1. t 45. ; Lam. IU.,t 445. f. 1. ; Guimp. Abb. Holz., 



t 4. ; and o\xr fig. 6.09. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Wood of the trunk, and especially of the root, intensely 

 camphor-scented. Branches spreading ; branchlets tomentose. Leaves oval, 

 tomcntose beneath. Flowers mostly abortive. Fruit top-shaped. A native of 

 the shaded banks of rivulets in Carolina. {Dec. Prod., iii. p. 2.) 

 Varieties. De Candolle gives two forms of this species. 



fit C.f. 1 ohl6iigu.s, leaves oblong (Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2., 3. p. 282.); and 



s C.f. 2 ovdtits, leaves roundishly ovate (Ait. H. Kcw.,cd. 2., 3. p. 282.). 



The following varieties are in Loddiges's Catalogue {or 183(j ; and plants 



of most of them are in their arboretum, and in that of the Horticultural 



S ociety : — 



tt C.f.S asplcnifnlius has cut leaves. 



* C.f. 'i'ferax has fertile flowers. 



* C.f. 5 glaucns lias leaves somewhat glaucous. 



• C.f. 6 inodonis has flowers nearly scentless. 



• C.f. 7 longifolius has elongated leaves. 

 s C.f. 8 variegdtiis has variegated leaves. 



Description, ^c. A shrub, growing to the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., and form- 

 ing a dense orbiculate bush ; the shoots covered with brown bark, and the 

 leaves opposite on short footstalks. The flowers 

 grow singly on short peduncles at the extre- 

 mity of the branches ; they have two series of 

 narrow thick sepals, which spread open, and 

 turn inward at the top, like those of the ane- 

 mone or clematis. They are of a dusky purple 

 colour, and have a powerful aromatic scent. 

 The plant is a native of Carolina, and was in- '■ 

 troduced by Mark Catesby in 1726. It was not 

 common in British gardens till about 1757; 

 when, according to ^liller, many plants were 

 brought from Carolina, it having been greatly 

 increased in the gardens about Charleston. It 

 thrives best in a light, rich, sandy soil, kept 





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