294 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



he observes that these, and " C. cornuta, remarkable for its pod-like mon- 

 strosity, are handsome showy trees, growing on lofty mountains, and worthy 

 of introduction into England." (Royle's Illust., p. 205.) 



C. canadensis Lois., C. elliptica Lois., C. paniculata Lois., and some other 

 hardy species, are mentioned in our first edition. 



iii. Laurocerasi. The Laurel-Cherry Trees. 

 Sect. Char. Evergreen. Flowers in racemes. 



* * 28. C. LUSITA'NICA Lois. The Portugal Laurel-Cherry, or common 

 Portugal Laurel. 



Identification. Lois, in N. Du Ham., 5. p. 5. ; 

 Dec. Prod., 2. p. 540. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 516. 



Synonymes. frdnus lusitanica Lin. Sp. 678. ; 

 the Cherry Bay ; Cerisier Laurier du Por- 

 tugal, Fr.\ Azareiro, Portuguese. 



Engravings. Mill. Ic., 131. t. 196. f. 1. ; Dill. 

 Elth., 193. t. 159. f. 193. ; the plate of the 

 species in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and 

 our figs. 483, 484. 



Spec. Char. ^c. Evergreen. Leaves 

 coriaceous, ovate-lanceolate, ser- 

 rate, glandless. Racemes upright, 

 axillary, longer than the leaves. 

 (Dec. Prod.) An evergreen low 

 tree. Portugal, and the Azores. 

 Height 10 ft. to 20 ft. ; in British 

 gardens sometimes 30ft. Intro- 

 duced in 1648. Flowers white; 

 June. Drupe dark purple ; ripe 

 in September. Young wood pur- 

 plish black. 



Variety. 



mi C. /. 2 Hfxa Ser. Pru- 

 nus Hixa Broussonet ; P. 

 multiglandulosa Cav. ; C. 

 Hixa Webb et Bert. Hist. 

 Can. t.38. (Our fig. 482.) 

 Leaves larger, with their 

 lowest teeth glanded. Ra- 

 cemes elongate. Flowers more loosely disposed. Spontaneous in 

 the islands of Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and Pal ma. Mr. P. B. Webb 

 informs us that this tree, in its native localities, attains the height 

 of 60 or 70 feet. 



The Portugal laurel is generally seen as 

 an immense bush, but when trained up to a 

 single stem it forms a very handsome tree 

 with a conical head. It is not of rapid 

 growth, seldom making shoots more than 

 9 or 10 inches in length j but, when planted 

 in good free soil, and trained to a single 

 stem, plants, in the neighbourhood of Lon- 

 don, will reach the height of from 12 ft. 

 to 15 ft. in 10 years. It is generally planted 

 solely as an ornamental evergreen ; but 

 sometimes hedges are formed of it in nur- 

 sery-grounds and flower-gardens. The 

 berries are greedily eaten by birds, and 

 form a favourite food for pheasants. What 

 renders the tree particularly valuable, Miller 483 . c rasus lu-ttmiw , 



482. Cfcrasus 1. Hfxa. 



