692 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BR1TANNICUM. 



Pyrenees, Mount Balrlo, Germany, and France. Height 1 ft. Introduced 

 in 1752. Flowers bright pink, sweet-scented; April, and again in Sep- 

 tember. Berries white, small, globose, seldom produced in England. 

 Varieties. 



U D. C. 2 fdliis variegdtis. The leaves have 



a narrow portion of yellow at the edges. 

 9^ D. C. 3 fibre albo. Flowers white. 



The prettiest species of the genus, more especially 

 when grafted ! or \\ foot high on D. iaureola. It is 

 also valuable for rock work, and growing in pots, 

 on account of its dwarf habit, and the beauty and 

 delightful fragrance of its flowers. For ordinary 

 purposes it is propagated by layers, and it thrives 

 best in peat soil kept rather moist. i 352 . D. 



GENUS II. 



Lin. Syst. Octandria 



DI'RCA L. THE DIRCA, or LEATHER-WOOD. 

 Monogynia. 



N. Du Ham., vol. iii. p. 193. ; Bot. Reg., t. 292. 



Lin. Amcen. Acad., 3. p. 12. 

 Thymela^a Grow. Virg. 155. 



Identification. 

 Synonyme. '. 

 Derivation. From dirke, a fountain ; the plant growing in watery places. 



Gen. Char. Calyx inferior, funnel-shaped, ending in 4 5 unequal teeth, pale 

 yellow, resembling a corolla. Stamens 8. Styles thread- shaped. Stigma 

 a simple point. Fruit a dry carpel. ( Willd.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous ; coriaceous. Flowers 

 terminal, appearing before the leaves, yellowish. A shrub of a yellow aspect, 

 and with the habit of a miniature tree ; native of Virginia. Peat soil kept 

 moist ; and it is readily propagated by imported seeds, or by layers. 



j* 1. D. PALU'STRIS L. The Marsh Dirca, or Leather-wood. 



Identification. Lin. Amoen. Acad., 3. p. 12. ; Willd. Sp. PI, 2. 



p. 424. ; Pursh Sept., 1. p. 268. 

 Synonymes. Moorwood ; Bois de Cuir, Bois de Plomb, Pr. ; 



Sumpf Lederholz, Ger. 

 Engravings. Lin. Amoen. Acad., 3. t. 1. f. 7.; Bot. Reg., t. 



292. ; and ourj^. 1353. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves lanceolate, oblong, 



alternate, pale green, villous beneath, and 



deciduous. ( Willd.) A low deciduous branchy 



shrub, with the habit of a miniature tree. 



Virginia. Height 3 ft. to 4 ft. Introduced in 



1750, and common in collections of peat-earth 



shrubs. Flowers yellow ; March. 



The whole plant has a yellow aspect, and the 

 flowers are of a brighter yellow than the leaves, 

 without the admixture or contrast of any other 

 colour j thus producing a monotonous ap- 

 pearance rare among plants. The flowers are 

 produced while the plant is leafless, and, in 

 England, they are seldom, if ever, followed by 

 seeds. The bud of the shoot of the same year 

 is enclosed in the bud of the inflorescence. The 

 young plants are very liable to be eaten by snails 

 Propagated by layers, which require two yearn to 

 root properly, or by American seedn. 



