344 MYRTUS COMMUNIS. 
sometimes called the "Flowering Myrtle," because it flowers in England more 
than any other variety. 
2. M. c. tarentina. Tarentum or Box-leaved Myrtle ; Myrte de Tarente, of 
the French. The leaves of this variety are small and ovate, Flowers small, 
and opening late in autumn. Berries round and black. 
3. M. c. italica. Italian or Upright Myrtle, the leaves of which are ovate- 
lanceolate, and the branches erect. Fruit black. 
4. M. c. BffiTicA. Andalusian or Orange-leaved Myrtle; Myrte d) Andahisie, 
of the French, the leaves of which are lanceolate and acuminate. Fruit black. 
5. M. c. lusitanica. Portugal Myrtle, with black fruit. 
6. M. c. belgica. Broad-leaved Dutch Myrtle; Myrte de Belgique, of the 
French, the leaves of which are lanceolate, acuminated, crowded together, and 
of a dark-green. Fruit black. 
7. M. c. mucronata. Sharp-pointed-leaved or Thyme-leaved Myrtle; Myrte 
pointu, of the French, the leaves of which are linear-lanceolate, and acuminated. 
Fruit black. This variety and all the preceding ones are frequent in the south 
of Europe, and comprise several sub-varieties with double flowers and variegated 
leaves. 
8. M. c. leucocarpa. White-berried Myrtle, a native of Greece and the Belearic 
Islands. The fruit, which is white, is rather large, and edible, with a grateful 
taste and smell. 
All of the above-named varieties are constant ; but there are many others 
growing in gardens, which are more variable. The following are the names of 
most of these : 
. Gold-striped Broad-leaved Myrtle. 
/9. Broad-Leaved Jews' Myrtle, having leaves frequently in threes, on which 
account it is said to be in esteem among the Jews in their religious ceremonies. 
'(. Gold-striped Orange-leaved Myrtle. 
d. Silver-striped Italian Myrtle. 
s. Striped-leaved Myrtle. 
. Silver-striped Rosemary or Thyme-leaved Myrtle. 
n- Silver-striped Nutmeg Myrtle, apparently a sub-variety of the " Portugal 
Myrtle." 
6. Cock" 1 s-comb or Bird's-nest Myrtle. 
t. Spotted-leaved Myrtle. 
a. Double-flowered Myrtle, apparently a sub-variety of the " Broad-leaved 
Dutch Myrtle." 
Geography and History. The Myrtus communis is indigenous to the south of 
Europe, and is found wild in abundance in France, about Marseilles, and from 
that city, along the coast to Genoa, growing in thickets, even within the spray 
of the sea, and throughout Italy. It is cultivated as a standard or for hedges in 
collections and gardens in most of the warm and temperate countries of the globe ; 
and in climes less congenial to its growth, it is made to ornament the conserva- 
tory or to grace the garden wall. 
Although the myrtle is now common as an underwood, in Italy, Pliny tells us 
that it was not a native of that country ; and that the first myrtle seen in Europe 
was planted near the tomb of one of the companions of Ulysses at Circeii ; and he 
adds that it still retained its Greek name murtos. He mentions eleven sorts of 
myrtle, and says that the most odoriferous grew in Egypt. Cato only speaks of 
two kinds. 
The first cultivation of the myrtle in Britain is assigned, in the " Hortus Kew- 
ensis," to the year 1629 ; when Parkinson informs us that he had three sorts in 
his garden, namely, the broad-leaved, and two varieties of the box-leaved myrtle. 
Gerard, however, in 1597, says that "myrtles never bear fruit in England;" 
