xxxvin. cornaYe^: bentha\\i/^. 



507 



what sweet, and not disagreeable to eat ; and, on the Continent, it is frequently 

 used in confectionery, and for making marmalades. As an ornamental tree, 

 the cornel is valuable, not only on account of its early flowering, and the fine 

 display made by its ripe fruit, but because it is a low tree, never growing out 

 of bounds, and one which, after it has attained the height of 10 or 12 feet, is 

 of slow growth, and of very great duration. For these last reasons, it is par- 

 ticularly suitable for small suburban gardens, in which it will form a fit associate 

 for small trees of Cratae^gus, Berberk, i?hamnus, u6nymus, //amamelis, &c. 

 Seeds ; but layers or suckers come much sooner into a flowering state. There 

 are remarkably fine specimens of this tree in the old French gardens in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris, and also in the old gardens of Germany. 



X 10. C. flo''rida L. The Florida Dogwood. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., IGCl. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 400. 



Synonyme. Virginian Dogwood. 



Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 526. ; Schmidt Baum., 2. t. 52. ; and omfig. 923. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Branches shining. Leaves ovate, acuminated, pale beneath, 

 beset with adpressed hairs on both surfaces. Flowers umbellate, pro- 

 truded after the leaves. Leaves of involucre large, roundish, retuse, 

 or nearly obcordate. Pomes ovate. Leaves of involucre white. Flow- 

 ers greeni.sh yellow, and very large. Pomes scarlet, about half the size of 

 those of C. mas ; ripe in August. (Dons Mill.) A large shrub or low 

 tree. Carolina to Canada, in woods ; and on the 

 banks of the Columbia, near its confluence -with 

 the sea. Height 20 ft. to 30 ft. Introduced in 

 1731. Flowers large, yellowish white ; April 

 and May. Fruit scarlet ; ripe in August. De- 

 ca3'ing leaves yellowish green. Naked young 

 wood brownish green. 



Cornus florida is universally allowed to be the 

 handsomest species of the genus. It thrives best in 

 a peat soil, which must be kept moist ; and the 

 situation should be sheltered, though the foliage of 

 the plants must be fully exposed to the influence of 

 the sun, otherwise they will not flower. Cuttings 

 or layers, both of which readily strike root. 



^m^r 



923. C. fldrida. 



Cornus grdndis Schlect. A small tree or shrub. Chico, in ravines. Intro- 

 duced in 1838 by Hartweg, and probably hardy. " It has a beautiful foliage ; the 

 leaves being from Sin. to b in. long, smooth and deep green above, hoary with 

 down on the under side." The flowers are in small heads, and the fruit as large 

 as a sloe, arid purplish black, covered wuth bloom. {Bot. Reg. Chron., 1839.) 



: C. officinalis, a native of Japan, is figured by Sieboldt (t. 50.), and will pro- 



bably prove hai-dy. 



' Genus II. 



BENTHA^MZ/l Lindl. 



The Benthamia. 

 Monogynia. 



Lin, St/si. Tetrandria 



Identification. Lindl. in Bot. Reg., t. 1579. 

 'iynonyme. C6mus sp. Wall., Dec, and G. Bon. 



SoriSr.nH''"'''? in honour of George .Be/Aam, Esq., F.L.S., Secretary to the Horticultural 

 oociety ; and nephew of the celebrated moralist and jurist, Jeremy Benthain. 



\Gcn.Char. Flowers disposed in heads, each head attended by an involucre 



1 which consists of 4 petal- like parts, and resembles a corolla. Calyx with a 



j minute i-toothed limb. Pefc/s 4, fleshy, wedge-shaped. Stamens i. Style 



1. Frtut constituted of many ponies grown together ; endocarp in each 



: pome with 2 cells. Seeds sohtary and pendulous in each cell. (Lindl.) 



