NETTLE TREE. 



CELTIS. 



I'OLYGAMIA MONtECIA. 



Called also the lote, or lotus tree. French, micocoulier ; Italian, 

 loto. 



THE European Nettle tree, Celtis Australia, or Black- 

 fruited Lote tree, grows with an erect stem, forty or 

 fifty feet high, with many slender branches : the leaves 

 are alternate, about four inches long, and two broad in 

 the middle. The flowers make no show ; the fruit is 

 black, of the size of a pea. 



It grows in the south of Europe to a great size : 

 D'Asso mentions some in Spain prodigiously large and 

 high. Martyn remarks, that " its fine regular spreading 

 head, and cheerful green colour, render this tree ex- 

 tremely proper for clumps in parks, groves, single trees, 

 or avenues."" 



Cask-hoops and fishing-rods are made of the branches, 

 and the berries are eaten by birds and boys. 



The American Nettle tree, Celtis Occidcntalis, has 

 broader and shorter leaves than the former, and smaller 

 fruit, which, when ripe, is dark purple. Where the soil 

 is moist and rich, this tree grows very large. It blossoms 

 in May, and the seed ripens in October. The leaves 

 come out late in the spring, but it is the latest in fading 

 of any deciduous tree. There is little beauty in the 



