XLii. coMPo'siTiE: j?a'ccHaris. 



547 



licrivi:tion. From Bacchus, \\\ne\ because of the vinous odour of its root. Pliny says tho root 

 smells of cinnamon : but as the ancients sometimes boiled down their wines, and mixed them with 

 spices, these wines may have had an odour similar to that of the root of the baccliaris. 



Gen. Char., S^c. Heads many-flowered, dicEcious. Corolla homogamous, tubular. 

 Receptacle naked, seldom subpaleaceous. Involiicruin subhemispherical, or 

 oblong, in many series, imbricated. Corollas of the male flowers o-cleft, 

 dilated at the throat ; anthers exserted, tailless ; stijle more or less abor- 

 tive. Corolla of the female flowers filiform, subtruncate ; style bifid, exserted ; 

 anthers wanting. Achcnia generally furrowed, or ribbed. Pappus pilose, of 

 the male in one series, of the female in one or many series. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous ; oblong lanceolate, 

 notched, serrated, or entire. Flowers terminal. Shrubs, of short duration ; 

 natives of North America ; of common culture and propagation. 



^ \. B. 7/alimifo'lia L. The Sea-Purslane-leaved Baccharis, or the 



Groundsel Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1204. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 3. p. 1915. 

 Si/nonyme. Senecio arborescens Hori. Kew. 



ngravinr,s. Schmidt Bamn., t. 82. ; Du Ham. Arb., t. 35. ; and our 

 M- 101 s. 



Spec, Char., ^-c. Leaves obovate, crenately notched 

 on the terminal portion, (llllld.) A large rambling 

 shrub. Maryland to Florida, on the sea coast. Height 

 8ft. toipft. Introduced in 1683. Flowers white, 

 with a tint of purple, and resembling those of the 

 groundsel, but larger ; September to November. 



Chiefly remarkable for the glaucous hue of its 

 leaves, in consequence of tiie whole plant being co- 



vered with a whitish powder. Its general appearance XS^^\f"ij^^^ 

 accords with that of the genus "yi'triplex, and the -'-saa^j/^^w^-.W 



shrubs of both families are, accordingly, well calcu- 

 lated for being grouped together. i?accharis lra\\- 

 mifolia will grov/ in any common soil which is 

 tolerably dry, attaining the height of 6 or 8 feet in 

 3 or 4 years ; and forming a large, loose-headed, 

 robust-looking bu.sb, of from 10 ft. to 12 ft. in height, 

 and 12 or 15 feet in diameter, in 10 years. Cut- 

 tings, in dry soil and an open situation. ...^ ^. v . , .- 



M 2. B. (ii.) ANGUSTiFoYiA Pursh. The narrow-leaved Saccharis, or 



Plo :igh ?nan's Spikenard. 



Identification. Pursh Sept., 2. p. 523. 



Engraving. Gut Jig. 1019. from a specimen in the Lambertian herbarium. 



Spec. Char., ^-c. Leaves narrow, linear, entire. Panicle com- 

 pound, many-flowered. Involucre small. (Pursh.) A sub- 

 evergreen shrub, of less vigorous growth, and somewhat 

 more tender, than the preceding species. Carolina to 

 Florida, on the sea coast, and on the banks of the Mississipni. 

 Height 3ft. to 4 ft. Introduced in IS 12. Flowers white; July 

 to September. 



Neither the flowers nor the- leaves of this or the preceding 

 species can be said to be either beautiful or ornamental ; partly 

 because they, as well as the seeds, bear a strong general re- 

 semblance to the leaves, flowers, and seeds of the common ^^^- s- (/..) an- 

 groundsel, a weed cf tiresome occurrence in gardens, and v^^ith ^"^ ''"' 

 which all our associations are the reverse- of those of rarltv or ele-^ance 

 Add also that groundsel trees can hardly be considered as truly fianeous plants' 

 or which reason we consider them wanting in that dignity of character which 

 belongs to all plants truly wood;-. 



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