13H 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



TART III. 



1912 



and the beauty and delightful fragrance of its flowers. It is commonly propa- 

 gated by layers, and it thrives best in peat soil, kept rather moist. 



App. i. Half-hardy Species of Daphne. 



m D. odbra Thunb. FL Jap., 159, Banks Ic. Kaempf, 1. 16., Ait. Hort. Kew., ii.p. 26., N. Du Ham., 

 1. p. 28., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836 ; D, sinensis Lam.Dict. ; the sweet-scented Daphne, Laureole de Chine, 

 Daphn odorant, Fr. ; wohlriechender Seidelbast, Ger.; has the leaves lanceolate, thin, and glabrous ; 

 and the flowers terminal and sessile. (Lois, in N. Du Ham. y \. p. 28.) It is a native of China and Japan, 

 which was introduced into Britain in 1771, and forms an erect shrub, greatly resembling D. pontica 

 in general appearance. The branches are glabrous, and the flowers, which are disposed in terminal 

 umbels, are remarkably sweet. The flower buds are pink in their exterior, 

 and the petals of the flowers, after expansion, are pink on the outside, though 

 they are white within. D. oddra was first brought to England by Benjamin 

 Torrens, Esq., and being confounded with the D. indica of Linnaeus, from 

 which it differs in having sessile flowers and alternate leaves, it was at first 

 kept in the stove. By degrees it was tried in a green-house, and is now found 

 to stand in the open air in sheltered situations. Du Hamel classes it with the 

 myrtle and the orange as to hardiness. There is a plant in the Horticultural 

 Society's Garden, which has stood out since 1832. 

 Varieties. 



m D. o. 2 variegdfa Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has variegated leaves, and quite 

 white flowers, 



41 D. o. 3 rubra D. Don, Brit. Fl. Card., 2d ser., t.320., and our fig. 1192., 

 has lanceolate leaves, and flowers of a rich deep pink colour. The flowers 

 are produced at the extremities of the shoots ; " they are of a dark red 

 in the bud state, but become paler and glossy after expansion, and they 

 are then highly fragrant." There are plants in the nursery of Mr. G. 

 Smith, at Islington, which appear very nearly hardy, having borne a 

 considerable degree of frost without protection. (See Gard. Mag., xii. 

 p. 75.) 



m D. hybrida Swt. Brit. Fl. Gard., 1st ser. t. 200., Bot Reg. t. 1177., and 

 our^g. 1193.; the D. delphinia of the French gardeners ; and the D. dau- 

 phinii, or dauphin's daphne, of the English gardeners ; has the 

 branches pubescent when young, but afterwards becoming 

 glabrous. Leaves alternate, oblong-elliptic, glossy above, and 

 pubescent beneath. Flowers in terminal groups, nearly ses- 

 sile, and covered on the outside with silky hairs. (Swt. Brit. 

 Fl. Gard.} This is a highly esteemed kind, and one that is 

 much propagated in the London nurseries. It grows freely, 

 has large handsome glossy leaves, and produces its purplish 

 flowers, which have a most delightful fragrance, in great 

 abundance. It is supposed to be a hybrid between D. col- 

 lina and D. odora ; but it is not known when, or by whom, 

 it was originated. It is generally kept in the green-house, 

 but would succeed perfectly in the open air, if planted in light 

 sandy soil, against a south wall where it could be protected 

 in very severe weather. It flowers under glass in February, 

 but would probably be a month or six weeks later in the 

 open ground. (Sweet and Lindl.) 



* D. indica L., the Indian or Chinese daphne, is a small shrub, with acute 



entire leaves, and terminal sessile flowers. Introduced in 1800, but much 1193 



more tender than either of the preceding species. 



D. papyracea Wai., D. cannabina Wai., is a Nepal species, from the inner bark of which a soft 

 kind of paper has been made in India. It was introduced in 1824. 



GENUS II. 



1 



DI'RCA L. THE DiRCA,or LEATHER-WOOD. Lin. Syst. Octandria 

 Monogynia. 



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



Synonymc. TTiymelae'a Gron. Virg., 155. 



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



* 1. D. PALU'STRIS L. The Marsh Dirca, or Leather-wood. 



Identification. Lin. Amoen. Acad., 3. p. 12. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 2. p. 424. ; Bot. Reg., t. 292. ; N. Du 



Ham., iii. p. 193, ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. 



Synonymes Moorwood ; Bois de Cuir, Bois de Plomb, Fr. ; Sump. Lederholz Ger. 

 Engravings. Lin. Amoen. Acad., 3. t. L f. 7. ; Du Ham. Arb., 1. t. 212. ; Bot. Reg., t. 292. ; and 



our fig. 1194. 



