400 



Lancewood 



3. SWAMP RED BAY Persea pubescens (Pursh) Sargent 

 Laurus caroUnensis pubescens Pursh. 



This tree closely resembles the Red bay in general appearance and bark, but 

 is usually smaller and not known to become more than 14 meters high nor to form 



a trunk more than 3.5 dm. in thickness; it 

 is distributed from southeastern Virginia to 

 Florida and Texas, growing in swamps or 

 wet soil, near the coast, and grows also on 

 the Great Bahama island. 



Its bark is usually thinner than that of 

 the Red bay, and the young brown twigs are 

 densely hair}'. The leaves are elUptic, oval 

 or lanceolate, 5 to 20 cm. long, pointed at 

 both ends, sometimes long-pointed at the 

 apex, rather bright green, smooth and shin- 

 ing on the upper surface, pubescent, at least 

 on the veins, beneath; the leaf-stalks are i 

 to 2 cm. long. The stalks of the axillary 

 flower-clusters are 5 to 8 cm. long, densely 

 velvety hairy, as well as the branches of the 

 inflorescence, the short flower-stalks and the 

 calyx; the inner sepals are 5 or 6 mm. long 

 and about twice as long as the outer ones, the stamens about as long, with hairy 

 filaments. The oval or nearly globular dark blue fruit is 1.5 cm. in diameter or 

 less. 



The soft orange-brown wood has a specific gravity of about 0.64. 



Fig. 353. Swamp Red Bay. 



II. LANCEWOOD 



GENUS OCOTEA AUBLET 



Species Ocotea Catesbyana (Michaux) Sargent 



Laurus Catesbyana Michaux 



COTEA includes some 200 kinds of evergreen trees and shrubs, with 

 entire-margined leaves, mostly natives of tropical America, a few in 

 the Old World tropics, having its type species in Ocotea guianensis 

 Aublet, of Guiana; the generic name was that used for this tree by 

 the Indians of Guiana. 



The Lancewood inhabits southern Florida and the Bahama islands, and is 

 abundant in hammocks or coppices, becoming at least 12 meters high, with a 

 smooth, somewhat angled or flattened trunk 3 dm. thick or less. The bark is 



