1064 



small petals, claret - 

 coloured or green, 

 and inconspicuous. 

 Flies visit the flowers 

 for pollen. The 

 rounded fruit is 

 bright scarlet, rough- 

 ened at the top 

 where the style has 

 withered, giving 

 some resemblance to 

 a large haw. 



THE SPURGE LAUREL 



This woodland 

 plant is but a dimin- 

 utive shrub growing 

 only to a height of 

 two feet or so. Its 

 long, supple stems 

 rise direct from the 

 root, and carry their 

 foliage chiefly at the 

 top in the form of 



tufted rosettes. The stems are grey or 

 whitish, coated with hairs. The leaves, 

 whose margins are without teeth, are dark 

 green and polished above, hghter and matt 

 beneath. They are practically stalkless. 



The flowers, which are complete with 

 stamens and pistil, are tubular, having 

 four divisions at the top after the manner 

 of petals. They grow in small clusters at 

 the junction of stem and leaf, are green, 

 inconspicuous, and without scent. Yet 

 they are freely visited for their nectar 

 by bees and other insects, opening in 

 ]\Iarch, as they do, when supplies are 



THE NATURE BOOK 



LAUREL LEAVES. 



Portugal Laurel. 2. Cherry Laurel 

 4. Aucuba. 



scant. It should, 

 however, be borne in 

 mind that attached 

 to the flowers are 

 modified leaves 

 (bracts), and these 

 serve to render their 

 clusters more con- 

 spicuous. The small 

 oval fruits are bluish- 

 black. They are 

 said to be poisonous 

 to all creatures ex- 

 cept birds. 



THE LAURUSTINUS 



This garden shrub, 

 an evergreen Vibur- 

 num from Southern 

 Europe, is only in- 

 cluded here because 

 of the implied asso- 

 ciation of its name. 

 Its leaves are Uke 

 In distinction it may 

 be noted that they are rather less pointed 

 at the base, are without the characteristic 

 fragrance of the Bay leaves, and are 

 arranged in opposite pairs on the shoots. 

 Its flowers are in close agreement with 

 those of the allied ^^'ayfaring Tree. They 

 are complete with stamens and pistil, are 

 tubular with fi\'e expansions at the top 

 simulating petals, and are carried so as to 

 form flattened clusters. In the southern 

 counties they expand in late autumn, 

 but farther north this is deferred till the 

 following spring. Henry Irving. 



3. Bay. 



those of the Bay. 



TABLE SHOWING POINTS OF DISTINCTION IN LAUREL LEAVES 



