LXX1V. JfYRICAC&fi: MYR1 CA. 



935 



Synonymes. Gale Rail Syn. 443. ; .Ela&gnus Card. Hist. 212. ; Afyrtus brabantica Ger. Emac. 



p. 1414. ; Zfhtis rayrtifdlia belgica Bauh. Pin. 414.; .K. sylvstris altera Dalech. Hist, 110.; /*. 



sylvestris Park, Theat. p. 1451. ; Myrlca paltistris Lam. ; Gale, Pimento royal, Fr. ; gemeine 



Wachsstrauch, Ger. 

 Engravings. E-ng. Bot., t. 562. ; Fl. Dan., t. 327. ; Hayne, t. 200. ; Lob. Ic., 2. p. 116. f. ; N. Du 



Ham., 2. t. 57. ; and our fig. 1742. 

 The Sexes. Both are in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves lanceolate, serrated ; tapering and entire at the base. 

 Scales of the catkins pointed. (Smith.) A deciduous aromatic shrub. 

 Europe, from Norway to Lombardy, the North of Asia, and in great part 

 of North America, and always in boggy soil. Height 2 ft. to 4 ft. Flowers 

 brownish green ; February and March. 



The catkins are numerous and sessile ; they are formed in the course 

 of the summer's growth, and remain on during the 

 winter, expanding the following spring, before the 

 leaves. The flower buds are above the leaf buds, 

 at the end of the branches ; whence, as soon as the 

 fructification is completed, the end of the branch 

 dies, the leaf buds which are on the sides shoot out, 

 and the stems become compound. The scales of 

 the male catkins are of a red shining brown ; and the 

 lower ones of the female catkins have a circlet of red 

 hairs towards the tip. The berries are 

 very small, and covered with resinous 

 dots, like the leaves. The plant is com- 

 mon in bogs. The gale is the badge of 

 the Highland clan Campbell. A variety 

 with larger leaves, &c., is mentioned by 

 Mirbel, and a figure of it given in the 

 Mem. Mus., 14. p. 474. t. 28., of which 

 our Jig. 1 743. is a reduced copy. 



1742. It. GttU. 



2. M. CERI'FERA L. 



1743. M. Gale. 



The common Wax-bearing, or American, Candleberry 



Myrtle. 



Identification. Lin. S P ., 1453. ; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 745. ; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 260. 

 Synonymes. M. cerifera angustifblia Ait. Hort. Kew, 3. p. 396. ; ATyrtus brabntica, &c., Pluk. 



Aim. 260. t. 48. ; Cerier de la Louisiane, Fr. ; Albero della cera, Ital. 

 Engravings. Pluk. Aim., t. 48. f. 9. ; Cat. Car., 1. t 69. 

 The Sexes. Only the male is in the Hackney Arboretum ; but, as seeds are annually imported from 



America, the female is doubtless in the country in many places. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, serrated, flat, somewhat shin- 

 ing. (Lam.) A large evergreen shrub. Canada to Carolina, in moist soil. 

 Height 5ft. to 12ft. Introduced in 1699. Flowers reddish green; May 

 or June. Fruit white ; ripe in October. 

 Variety 



M. c. 2 latifolia Ait. M. c. media Michx. ; 

 M. carolinensis Willd., Pursh Fl. Amer. 

 Sept. ii. p. 620. ; M. pennsylvanica Lam., 

 N. Du Ham. ii. p. 190. t. 55., and our 

 Jig. 1744. ; M. c. sempervirens Hort. ; 

 Myrtus brabantica Cat. Car. i. t. 13. ; 

 Cerier de Pennsylvanie, Fr. ; Caroli- 

 nischer Wachsstrauch, Ger. ; the broad- 

 leaved American Candleberry Myrtle. 

 This variety has the leaves broader than 

 those of the species, and an arborescent 

 stem. According to the Nouveau Du 

 Hamel, it is hardier than M. cerifera. 

 Cultivated in England before 1730. 



Its general appearance and habits closely resemble those of the European 

 species ; the leaves are, however, larger, and more serrated ; they are ever- 

 green, and in M. c. latifolia greatly resemble those of the sweet bay. The 



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