692 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



Pyrenees, Mount Bahlo, Germany, and France. Height 1 ft. Introduced 

 in 1752. Flowers bright pink, sweet-scented; April, and again in Sep- 

 tember. Berries white, small, globose, seldom produced in England. 



Varieties. 



fu O. C. 2 fdliis variegdtis. The leaves have 



a narrow portion of yellow at the edges. 

 ^ D. C. 3 J/ore dlbo. Flowers white. 



The prettiest species of the genus, more especially 

 when grafted ! or 1 ^ foot high on D. Laureola. It is 

 also valuable for rockwork, and growing in pots, 

 on account of its dwarf habit, and the beauty and 

 delightful fragrance of its flowers. For ordinary 

 purposes it is propagated by layers, and it thrives 

 best in peat soil kept rather moist. 



1352. D. Cneorum 



Genus II. 



DI'RCA L. The Dirca, or Leather-wood. 



Monos:vnia. 



Li?i. S^st. Octandria 



Identification. Lin. Amoen. Acad., 3. p. 12. ; N. Du Ham., vol. iii. p. 193. j Bot. Reg., t. 292. 



Synonyme. ThymrliB^a Gron. f'irg. 155. 



Derivation. From dirke, a fountain ; the plant growing in watery places. 



Gen. Char. Ca/i/.v inferior, funnel-shaped, ending in 4 5 unequal teeth, pale 

 yellow, resembling a corolla. Slame?is 8. Sti/les thread-shaped. Stigma 

 a simple point. Fruit a. dry earpel. (JVillil.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate,- deciduous; coriaceous. Flotvers 

 terminal, appearing before the leaves, yellowish. A shrub of a yellow aspect, 

 and with the habit of a miniature tree ; native of Virginia. Peat soil kept 

 moist ; and it is readily propagated by imported seeds, or by layers. 



JS 1. D. PALU'STRIS L. 



Fr.; 



Identification. Lin. Amcen. Acad., 3. p. 12 



p. 424. ; Pursh Sept., 1. p. 268. 

 Synoiiynifs. Moorwood ; Bois de Cuir, Bois de Plomb 



Sumpf Lederholz, Ger. > 



Engravi7igs. Lin. Amcen. Acad., 3. t. 1. f. 7.; Bot. Reg., t. 



292. ; and our fig. 1353. 



Spec. Char., S^c, Leaves lanceolate, oblong, 

 alternate, pale green, villous beneath, and 

 deciduous. (JFi/W.) Alow deciduous branchy 

 shrub, with the habit of a miniature tree. 

 Virginia. Height 3 ft. to 4 ft. Introduced in 

 1750, and common in collections of peat-earth 

 shrubs. Flowers yellow ; INIarch. 



The whole plant has a yellow aspect, and the 

 flowers are of a brighter yellow than the leaves, 

 without the admixture or contrast of any other 

 colour; thus producing a monotonous ap- 

 pearance rare among plants. The flowers are 

 produced while the plant is leafless, and, in 

 England, they are seldom, if ever, followed by 

 seeds. The bud of the shoot of the same year 

 is enclosed in the bud of the inflorescence. The 

 young plants are very liable to be eaten by snails 

 Propagated by layers, which require two yearn to 

 root properly, or by American seed.n. 



The JNIarsh Dirca, or Leather-tvood. 



Willd. Sp. PI. 2. 



1353j I>. paJuslris. 



I 



