THE SWEET LEAF FAMILY 



SYMPLOCACE.^ Miers 



HIS family consists of about 275 species of trees or shrubs all classified 

 under the one genus Symplocos; they occur in the warmer regions of 

 America, Asia, and x\ustraHa; in Europe some tertiary fossils have 

 been referred to it. Thev are of httle economic value, but some are 

 used locally to produce a yellow dye and also in medicine on account of supposed 

 tonic properties. 



The Symplocaceae have alternate, simple, usually leathery leaves with entire 

 or toothed margins and a preponderance of yellow pigment ; there are no stipules. 

 The flowers are perfect, or often polygamo-dioecious, mostly yellow, disposed in 

 lateral or axillary clusters, usually spicate or racemose. The calyx is superior, 

 cup-shaped, 5-lobed; the corolla is 5-parted nearly to the base; stamens numerous, 

 joined to the corolla-tube, in several series, their filaments more or less united 

 at the base; anthers short, introrse; ovary 2- to 5-celled with 2 or rarely 4 ovules 

 in each cell; style simple, terminal, the stigma entire or sUghtly lobed. The fruit 

 is a berry or drupe, its stone hard and bony, usually i-seeded; embr}'0 straight or 

 curv^ed in fleshy endosperm. 



SWEET LEAF 



GENUS SYMPLOCOS JACQUIN 



Species Symplocos tinctoria (Linnaeus) L'Heritier 



Hopea tinctoria Linnaeus 



HIS small tree or shrub is evergreen in the warmer sections of its range, 

 but its leaves are deciduous toward its northern hmit and at higher 

 altitudes. It occurs from southern Delaware to northern Florida, 

 westward to Louisiana and Arkansas, in moist, rich woods or borders 

 of swamps. Its maximum height is 10 meters, with a trunk diameter of 3 dm.; 

 it is also called Yellowwood, Horse sugar. Wild laurel, and Florida laurel. 



The branches are slender and ascending. The bark is 8 to 12 mm. thick, 

 close or sometimes fissured and of a reddish gray color. The twigs arc stout, 

 round and pithy, Hght green and thickly hair}% becoming quite smooth and glau- 

 cous and finally dark brown; winter buds ovoid, sharp-pointed. The leaves are 

 somewhat leathery, elhptic, oblong or oblong- lanceolate, 6 to 15 cm. long, sharp 

 or taper-pointed, narrowed at the base into a short stalk, shallowly toothed on the 

 margin, hairy at first, becoming shining above, paler and yellowish hair)-, with 



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