186 FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA 



POLYGONUM L. KNOT GRASS. 



P. maritimum L. Sea Knot-grass. Plant prostrate, woody, stout and rigid. 

 Leaves thick, often glaucous, especially beneath, lanceolate or oblong, slightly 

 rolled in at the border. Stipules large, scarious and nerved. Nuts rather large, 

 smooth and shining. The root often penetrates several feet into the sand. 



Sea-sands, common on the coast. May-September. 



P. Robert! i Loisel. = P. RaJi Bab. Less woody and stiff and usually 

 rather greener, like a young specimen of the last but with less shining and 

 smaller nuts. Leaves often less crowded and flat. 



Sea-sands and sometimes in salt marshes. June-September. 



An article on this plant by M. E. Reynier appeared in the " Annales de la 

 Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Toulon " for 1913. 



P. romanum Jacq. = P. flagellare Bert. Plant 1-3 ft. long, rather 

 glaucous, with thick and twisted woody stock, sending up several slender stems 

 which are naked below. Leaves linear-lanceolate, flat. Nuts small, as long 

 as the perianth. 



Sea-sands, road-sides, and sandy places. July-September. 



The following also occur : 



P. Convolvulus L. in fields; P. amphibium L., P. lapathifolium L., 

 P. Persicaria L., P. Hydropiper L., and P. serrulatum Lag., in wet 

 places; P. Bellardi AIL, P. pulchellum Loisel., and P. aviculare L. (the 

 Common Knot-grass) in- many forms. 



THYMEL^EACE^. 



Perianth deciduous; fruit fleshy DAPHNE. 



Perianth persistent, enclosing the dry fruit PASSERINA. 



PASSERINA L. (Thymelaea Endl.). 



P. hirsute L. Under-shrub, 1-3 ft. high, much branched, covered with 

 whitish tomentum. Leaves oval, very small and imbricate, obtuse, thick and 

 fleshy, concave, whitish felted beneath. Flowers very small, terminal, silky 

 without, yellowish within. Fruit ovoid, glabrous. 



Sandy or rocky places on or near the coast. September-May. 



Very distinct from the other species, none of which have minute oval im- 

 bricate leaves. They comprise P. annua Wiks., P. Thymelaea DC., P. 

 Tarton-raira DC. (He du Levant), and T. dioica All. (in the mountains). 



DAPHNE L. 



D. (inidium L. (Plate XXIV). A small shrub, 2-6 ft. high, with erect, stiff 

 stems and branches which are smooth, brown and puberulent at the summit. 

 Leaves linear-lanceolate, alternate, mucronate, glabrous, i-nerved. Flowers 

 white, scented, in terminal panicles ; pedicles and peduncles whitish ; perianth 

 silky white, with short oval lobes. Berry ovoid, red. 



Woods, hill-sides, and uncultivated places on the littoral. June-October. 



The following 4 species are found in the lower mountains : 



D. Cneorum L. (flowers pink, sweet-scented, April-July), D. alpina L. 



(flowers creamy-white, scented, leaves hairy, rather large, April-June), D. 



Mezereum L. (flowers pink, appearing in March before the leaves), and D. 



Laureola L., Spurge-laurel (flowers green, leaves very large, glabrous and 



leathery, a shrub of 2-4 ft.). The last is fairly common in the famous forest of 



Sainte-Baume. 



LAURACE^E. 

 LAURUS L. 



L. nobilis L. Bay-tree. Leaves broadly lanceolate or elliptic, persistent, 

 leathery, aromatic. Flowers small, yellowish, in little axillary clusters. Berry 

 black. This well-known tree attains a height of 30 ft. or more, as e.g. near 



