LAURINE^ 



SWEET BAY, Laurus nohilis. 



Shrubberies, gardens. April, May. Needs shelter. Any necessary pruning 

 should be done in April. Propagated by cuttings in sandy soil under handlight 

 in shady position outdoors, August — October ; layering of shoots in September 

 or October. 



Flowers yellowish-white, inconspicuous, dioecious, in axillary clusters ; Calyx 

 4-partite, imbricate ; Stamens opposite segments of calyx ; Ovary single, superior, 

 1 -celled, style simple, stigma obtuse; Frjiit a berry, oval, dark purple, ripe 

 in October. 



Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, wavy, acute, pinnately veined, coriaceous, 

 aromatic, shortly petiolate. 



An evergreen ti'ee or shrub, 30-60 ft. ; Branches arching ; Tivigs smooth ; 

 Bark smooth. 



Native of S. Europe ; introduced about 1562. It is the Bay tree, or true 

 Laurel, used in ancient times to form wreaths for poets and conquerors. Name 

 Bay = a berry tree; M.E. bay, a berry ; F. baie ; L. baca, a berry. 



Class I Dicotyledons 



Division IV. , . Incompletce 



Natural Order . . . Thymelceacece 



Trees or shrubs, rarely herbs, with acrid juice, and tough inner bark ; 

 Leaves opposite, alternate or scattered, exstipulate, entire; Flowers usually 

 hermaphrodite, sometimes polygamous or di(£cious ; Perianth inferior, green 

 or petaloid, 4-5-lobed, imbricate in bud ; Starnens usually twice as many as 

 calyx lobes, in two series, adnate to and included in perianth tube, often 

 an annular disk of hypogynous scales or glands ; Ovary superior, usually 1-celled ; 

 Fruit usually a berry or drupe. 



Chief characteristics acridity and toughness of bark. Distinguished from 



Elaeagnaceae chiefly by tlie one suspended ovule. 



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