318 NATURAL HISTORY. 



3. Leaves on short petioles, oblong, obtusely rounded ; 

 flowers small, pale yellow, resembling May-flowers, and 

 of both sexes. Fruit, a berry-like plum, yellow, and 

 about the size of an apricot. Ripens six months after 

 the time of budding ; the outer covering or hull opens 

 like that of our hickory nuts, and a dark-colored seed or 

 nut drops out ; it is enveloped in a thin, reddish -colored 

 skin, which is called Mace. The kernel contained in the 

 nut is the genuine and -well-known nutmeg. The nut- 

 meg abounds in a warm, stimulant, and volatile oil, and 

 is, together with mace, much used in cooking, h. 



FIFTY-FOURTH FAMILY. THYMELACE^E. DAPH- 

 NIADS. 



The Mezereum Spurge Laurel (Daphne mezereum), 

 a European plant, is a small shrub; leaves lanceolate, 

 entire, in terminal tufts ; flowers handsome rose-color ; 

 some varieties white ; of powerful, pleasant, but stupefy- 

 ing odor; fruit, berries about the size of peas, bright 

 red. Grows in damp, shady forests ; blooms about the 

 end of February. The whole plant, the bark especially, 

 is very acrid. The berries are poisonous, and even the 

 smell of the flowers creates a burning sensation in the 

 nostrils. 



Dirca Leather Wood (D. palustris) is the only 

 American variety. Flowers small, yellow, and funnel- 

 shaped, appear befgre the leaves. The tough bark is 

 acrid, and even blistering; is used for ropes, cordage, 

 baskets, etc. The reticulated fibers may be separated 

 and made into a kind of lace, as in the Lagelfa or Lace 

 Bark of Jamaica. 2 . 



FIFTY-FIFTH FAMILY. ARISTOLOCHIACE^;. (Class 

 10, Linn.) 



The Common Birthwort (Aristolochus clematitis) 13 



