BOTANY. 361 



species, the Gove Cypress, (Cujyressus goveniana) growing 

 near Monterey, is a handsome, ornamental tree, and does not 

 exceed ten feet in height. 



The Western yew is an upright tree from fifty to seventy- 

 five feet high, with thin and light foliage, the leaves being 

 about an inch long. Its growth is straighter, its branches 

 fewer, and its foliage thinner, more feathery, and lighter in 

 color, than the European yew. It grows on the Sierra Nevada 

 from 34 northward to British Columbia. 



Many other conifers are found in California, but do not re- 

 quire special description here. Among them are several hem- 

 locks, (Tsugas) and various species of pine, and fir. 



286. Nutmeg. The California nutmeg (Torreya cali- 

 fornicd) is a graceful and beautiful evergreen, found in the 

 Coast Mountains near the Bay of San Francisco. It grows 

 from fifty to seventy-five feet high, and resembles the West- 

 ern yew in foliage and general form. The fruit is like a nut- 

 meg in size and shape, but it has a disagreeable terebinthine 

 taste, and is never used as a condiment. 



287. Laurel The California laurel, or bay, (Oreo- 

 daphne californica) is one of the most common and beautiful 

 trees of the coast valleys. It is ah evergreen, which grows to 

 a height of fifty feet, with a trunk sometimes thirty inches in 

 diameter. The leaves are dark green, lustrous, four inches 

 long, one inch wide, sharp at both ends, with smooth edges. 

 The foliage is dense. The wood is grayish in color, very hard, 

 durable, and difficult to split, susceptible of -high polish, and 

 in many trees marked with a beautiful grain, so that it has 

 been used for veneering and solid ornamental work. It is 

 sometimes, however, occupied while growing by a boring 

 beetle, which continues its work after the wood has been 

 made into furniture, and destroys its value. The leaves have 

 a strong aromatic odor, resembling that of bay rum. 



288. Madrono,. The madroiia (Arbutus menziesii) is 

 one of the most striking trees of the Californian forest. It is 



