MYRTACEi^ 



Leaves alternate, palniately 5-7-lobed, lobes acuminate, glandular-serrate, 

 glabrous, villose in axils of principal veins, briglit shining green, resinous 

 fragrance when bruised, G-7 ins. wide ; petioles slender, 5-6 ins. long ; stipules 

 entire, glabrous. Autumn tint deep crimson, after sunless sunnner a dull 

 purple. 



A deciduous tree, 30-50 ft. ; Branches slender ; Tidgs angled, hairy at 

 first, light orange to reddish-brown, corky ; Buds acute, scales ovate, acute, 

 orange-brown ; Wood heavy, hard, close-grained, not strong, brown tinged red. 



Introduced from N. America, 1681 ; there reaches 140-160 ft. Generic 



name from L. lujuidus, flowing, liquid, and Arabic amhar ; a terebinthine 



gum exudes from members of the genus, smelling like Balsam of Tolu. 



Specific name from Gr. styrax, the tree yielding storax, a resin, and L. 



Jitia, fiuo, I flow. 



Class I Dicotyledons 



Division II. . . . CalyciflorcB 



Natural Order . . . Myrtacece 



Trees or shrubs, with opposite or alternate, usually entire and exstipulate, 

 leaves, often dotted with pellucid glands ; Calyx superior, 4-5-lobed, valvate ; 

 Petals 4-5, imbricate, sometimes obsolete ; Stamens 8-10, or indefinite, rarely 

 4-5, filaments free or united in bundles ; Ovary inferior, 1-6 celled, style 

 and stigma simple, placentation axile, or rarely parietal ; Fruits various, 

 dry or succulent. 



MYRTLE, Myrtus communis. 



Gardens, shrubberies. July. Hardy in the south of England, but needs 



shelter from cold winds. Best in sandy loam and leaf soil, and requires 



water in summer. Propagated by cuttings of young shoots 2 ins. long 



inserted in sandy soil under bell-glass in a little heat, in spring or summer; 



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