Gordonia lasianthus, 
THE WOOLLY-FLOWERED GORDONIA. 
Hypericum lasianthus, 
Gordonia lasianthus. 
Gordonia a feirilles glabres, Alcee de la 
Floride, 
Langstielige Gordonie, 
Loblolly Bay, 
Synonymes. 
Linnaeus, Species Plantarum. 
' Linn^us, Mantissa Plantarum. 
De Candolle, Prodromus. 
Michaux, North American Sylva. 
Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 
Torrey and Gray, Flora of North America. 
France. 
Germany. 
United States. 
Derivations. The specific name, lasianthus, is derived from the Greek lasios, woolly, and anthos, a flower. The French 
name Aide de la Floride, signifies Florida Althea, or hollyhock, and the other name has reference to the smoothness of the 
leaves. The German name signifies Long-peduncled Gordonia. 
Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pi. 53 ; Audubon, Birds of America, pi. clxvii. ; Catesby, Natural History of 
Carolina, i., pi. 44. ; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, figure 93; and the figures below. 
Specific Characters. 
smooth, serrated. 
Pedicels axillary, usually shorter than the leaves. Leaves oblong, coriaceous, 
Calyx silky. Capsules conoid, acuminated. Don, Miller's Diet. 
Description. 
HE Gordonia lasian- 
thus, in its native 
country, is a beauti- 
^WB&W&sm ful sub-evergreen tree, 
growing to a height of fifty or sixty feet, with a 
diameter of eighteen or twenty inches. The trunk 
is often straight, for the first half of its height, 
and the small divergency of its branches gives it 
a regularly fastigiate form ; but, as they ascend, 
they spread more loosely, like those of other trees 
of the forest. The bark is very smooth while 
the tree is less than six inches in diameter ; but, 
on old trunks, it becomes thick, and deeply fur- 
rowed. The leaves are from three to six inches 
in length, alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly 
toothed, and smooth and shining on the upper 
surface. The flowers are more than an inch 
broad, white, and sweet-scented ; they begin to 
appear about the middle of July, and continue to 
put forth, in succession, during two or three months. This tree possesses the 
agreeable singularity of bearing flowers when it is only three or four feet high. 
The fruit is an oval capsule, divided into five compartments, each of which 
contains small, black, winged seeds. 
Geography and History. This tree appears to be confined to the maritime 
parts of the United States, from Virginia to lower Louisiana. According to 
Michaux, tracts of fifty or one hundred acres are met with in the pine-barrens, 
which, being lower than the adjacent ground, are kept constantly moist by the 
waters collected in them after great rains. These spots are entirely covered 
with this species and are called bay sivamps. 
