151. CEANOTHUS THYRSIFLORUS, ESCHSCH. BLUE MYRTLE. 23 



151. CEANOTHUS THYRSIFLORUS, ESCHSCH. 

 BLUE MYRTLE, BLUE-BLOSSOM, CALIFORNIA OR WILD LILAC. 



Ger., Californischer Flieder; Fr., Lilas de Calif ornie; Sp., Lilas 



de California. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: Leaves persistent, alternate, minutely glandular- 

 serrate, conspicuously 3-ribberi from base, oblong to oblong -ovate, 1-14 in- long, 

 smooth above, paler and minutely pubescent beneath as are also the stout peti- 

 oles and new growths ; branchlets conspicuously angled and covered with pale 

 pubescence at first but finally glabrous, unarmed. Flowers (appearing in early 

 spring) blue and fragrant, in pedunculate somewhat leafy thersoid clusters 2-3 

 inches in length, springing from axillary buds near the ends of the leafy shoots 

 of the season. Fruit (July to September) black, not crested and containing, 

 smooth blackish seeds about one line in length. 



(The specific name, thyrsiflora, is derived from the Greek and is descriptive of 

 the form of flower-cluster.) 



A small tree, rarely 30 ft. (9 m.) in height and 12 in. (0.30 m.) in 

 diameter of trunk with long slender branches, but more often a tall 

 shrub and to the southward of its range a low shrub. The bark of the 

 trunk is thin, of a chocolate -brown color and checks with age into firm 

 rectangular plates. 



HABITAT. California, among the coast ranges from Humboldt 

 County southward into San Diego County, growing along slopes and 

 the border of forests and forming in places almost impenetrable thick- 

 ets. It attains its maximum development in Mendocino County. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. The wood of this species is rather soft, 

 light, tough, compact, close-grained, with fine medullary rays and of 

 a light reddish-brown color with pinkish-white sap-wood, whitest near 

 the bark. Specific Gravity, 0.5750; Percentage of Ash, 0.69; 

 Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.5710; Weight of a Cubic Foot 

 in Pounds, 35.83. 



The fragrant handsome flowers of this species give it well -deserved 

 recognition, and it is often cultivated for ornamental purposes. Little 

 if any other use is made of it. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. Although so far as known no medicinal 

 properties have been ascribed to the Blue Myrtle, it is not improbable 

 that its bark may possess the tonic and astringent properties ascribed 

 to other representatives of the genus. 



ORDER SAPINDACE^I: SOAPBERRY FAMILY. 



Leaves simple or compound. Flowers polynetalous. often irregular and mostly 

 symmetrical: sepals and petals each 4-5. imbricated in the bud, the petals 

 inserted with the 5-10 stamens on a perisynons or hypogenous disk; ovary 2-3- 

 celled and lobed. tisuallv 1-*J ovules in eacli cell, embryo mostly convoluted: no 

 albumen Fruit a membranous, inflated pod, a leathery thick subspherical pod 

 with nut-like seeds, or a winged samara. 



