544 A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY. 



while the kernel is the nutmeg, the pericarp of the fruit and coat 

 of the seed being rejected. 



h. LAURACE^ OR LAUREL FAMILY.~The members 

 of this family are chiefly shrubs and trees which are distributed 

 mostly in the Tropics, although a few are found in the temperate 

 zones (Fig. 280, F). 



Sassafras officinale. — This is a tree common in the eastern and 

 central portion of the United States and is characterized by its 

 rough bark and its i- to 3-lobed leaves, from whence it received 

 its former name Sassafras variifoliiim (Fig. 203). The flowers 

 are yellow, dioecious and appear in the spring before the leaves. 

 The fruit is an oblong, blue drupe. 



Cinnamomum zeylanicum, which is the source of the Ceylon 

 cinnamon (Fig. 304), is a small, handsome, evergreen tree with 

 opposite, coriaceous, broadly lanceolate, 3- to 5-nerved leaves (Fig. 

 303). The flowers are yellowish-white, hermaphrodite, or both 

 pistillate and staminate. The fruit is a black, ovoid berry. The 

 oil of Ceylon cinnamon from the bark and branches is charac- 

 terized by its content of cinnamic aldehyde ; from the leaves by 

 eugenol ; and from the root bark by camphor. C. Cassia which 

 yields Cassia cinnamon is a tree growing in China, Sumatra, and 

 cultivated in Java. It has long, oblong-lanceolate leaves which are 

 pubescent on the lower surface. Cassia cinnamon (bark) is also 

 obtained from Cassia Burmanni. Saigon cinnamon (see Vol. II) 

 is derived apparently from wild trees growing in the mountainous 

 regions of Anam, the botanical origin of which has not been 

 determined. 



The volatile oils of the members of the Lauraceae vary con- 

 siderably in composition. In addition to the oils of Sassafras 

 and Cinnamon the following may be mentioned : A cinneol- 

 containing oil is found in Cinnamomum Oliveri of Australia, 

 Umbelhdaria californica of Western North America and Laurus 

 nobilis the noble laurel of the Mediterranean and Mexico. A bor- 

 NEOL-containing oil is obtained from the root of Dicypellium 

 caryophyllatum of Guiana, the wood of which is known in 

 Cayenne as rose-wood. An oil containing a notable amount of 

 METHYL SALICYLATE IS obtained from the spice-bush {Lindera 

 Benzoin) of the United States. 



