MEZEREUM FAMILY 



DAPHNE. SPURGE LAUREL. MEZERON 



Daphne mezereum. 



Daphne, the name of the nymph transformed by Apollo 

 into a laurel. 



Low, hardy, one to four feet high ; a native of Europe and 

 Asia which has escaped from cultivation and is now found spar- 

 ingly in Massachusetts and New York, also in Canada. 



Leaves. Alternate, simple, thin, three to five inches long, 

 oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate, narrowed at base, entire, acute 

 at apex, smooth, bright green. Petioles very short. 



Floivers. April, before the leaves. Perfect, rose-purple, 

 rarely white, very fragrant, borne in sessile clusters of two to 

 five, on the shoots of the preceding year. 



Calyx. Salver-shaped ; tube about half an inch long, downy ; 

 lobes four, spreading, about as long as the tube. 



Stamens. Eight, in two rows, included, inserted on the calyx- 

 tube ; filaments very short. 



Pistil. Ovary superior, one-celled ; style short ; stigma large, 

 capitate. 



fruit. An oblong-oval red drupe, a quarter of an inch long. 



Daphne mezereum is widely distributed, common 

 over nearly the whole of Europe and northern Asia 

 and found in the Arctic regions. For cen- 

 turies it has been a favorite garden plant 

 in Europe, but in this country is too rarely 

 seen. It is of erect habit, one to three feet 

 high, with rigid branches ; in summer each 

 is crowned with a tuft of narrow deciduous 

 leaves. 



The flowers appear before the leaves, in 

 numerous clusters of two or three, along 

 the wood of the preceding year, and are 

 422 



Daphne me^ere 

 um, in flower. 



