1414 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



which is edible, and, though small, is remarkably sweet, and said to be very 

 wholesome. Some of the species, according to Descemet, are very orna- 

 mental ; particularly C. crassitolia, the branches of which assume the character 

 of a fan ; and C. occidentals, the branches of which droop like a parasol. 

 The wood of C. australis is valuable ; but that of most of the other species is 

 too weak to be of any use in the arts. The leaves of all the species, like 

 those of all the species of Z)iospyros, drop off almost simultaneously, and thus 

 occasion very little trouble to the gardener in sweeping them up. Propa- 

 gated by layers or seeds. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1*. 6d. each ; 

 at Bollwyller, 1 franc ; and at New York, 50 cents. 



1. C. AUSTRAYis L. The southern Celtis, or European Nettle Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1478. ; Mill. Diet., No. 1. ; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 993. ; Du Ham. Arb., ed. 



nov., 2. p. 34. t. 8. : Lam. 111., t. 884. f. 1. ; Flore Franc;., 3. p. 313. ; Duby et Dec. Bot. Gallic., 



L p. 421. ; Roem. et Schult. Syst. Veg., 6. p. 305. j Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 105. 

 Synonymes. Z,6tus arbor Lob. Ic., 2. p. 186. ; Lotus sive Celtis Cam. Epit., 155. ; Lote tree; Mico- 



coulier austral, Micocoulier de Provence, Fabrecoulier, Fabreguier des Provencaux (see N. Du 



Ham.}\ Lotu, Ital. 

 Engravings. Cam. Epit, ic. ; Lam. 111., t. 884. f. 1. ; Scop. Del. Flor. Insubr., t. 18. ; St. Hilaire 



Livr., 27. t. 7. ; Du Ham. Arb., ed. nov., 2. t. 8. ; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 105. ; and our fig. 1252. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or acuminate, 

 argutely serrated, unequal at the base, rough on the upper surface ; soft, 

 from down, on the under one. Flowers solitary. Fruit black. Indigenous 

 to the south of Europe and the north of Africa ( Willd. Sp. PI., and Roem. 

 et Schult. Syst. Veg.), also to the west of Asia. A tree, growing to the 

 height of 40ft. Introduced in 1796; flowering in May, and ripening its 

 fruit in October. 



Variety . Brotero, in his Flora Lusitanica, mentions a variety, with variegated 



leaves, that was found wild in Portugal. 



Description. A tree, from 30ft. to 40ft. high, with a straight trunk and 

 branched head. The branches are long, slender, and flexible, with a grey 

 bark, spotted with white, and covered with a slight down at the extremities. 

 The bark of the trunk is dark brown. The 

 leaves are of a dark green, marked str ogly 

 with the nerves on the lower side, and, when 

 young, covered with a yellowish down. 

 They are oval-lanceolate, terminating in a 

 point at the summit, and at the base having 

 one side prolonged down the petiole. The 

 flowers are small, greenish, and' inconspi- 

 cuous ; and are produced at the same time 

 as the leaves. The fruit, which, when ripe, 

 is blackish, and resembles a very small 

 withered wild cherry, is said not to become 

 edible till the first frost (see JV. Du Ham., 

 vol. ii. p. 35.) ; and it hangs on till the fol- 

 lowing spring. It is remarkably sweet, and 

 is supposed to have been the Z,6tus of the 

 ancients, the food of the Lotophagi ; which 

 Herodotus, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus 

 describe as sweet, pleasant, and wholesome ; 

 and which Homer says was so delicious, 

 as to make those who ate it forget their 

 country. (See Odyssey, lib. ix. v.93.) The 

 berries are still eaten in Spain ; . and Dr. 

 Walsh says that the modern Greeks are very fond of them. According 

 to Dr. Sibthorpe, they are called, in modern Greek, honey berries. ( See Hogg 

 on the Classical Plants of Sicily, in the Journ. of Sot., 2d ser., p. 204.) The tree 

 grows rapidly, more especially when once established, and afterwards cut 

 down ; sometimes producing shoots, in the climate of London, 6 ft. or 8 ft. in 

 length. It bears pruning remarkably well, at every age. Its leaves are very 



1252 



