678 TREES OF NORTH AMERICA 



The generic name is in honor of James Gordon (1728-1791), a well-known London 

 nurseryman. 



CONSPECTUS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES. 



Flowers long-pedunculate ; filaments united into a cup ; capsule ovoid ; seeds winged ; 



leaves persistent. 1. G. Lasianthus (C). 



Flowers subsessile ; filaments distinct ; capsule globose ; seeds without wings ; leaves 



deciduous. 2. G. Altamaha (C). 



1. Gordonia Lasianthus, Ell. Bay. Loblolly Bay. 



Leaves coriaceous, lanceolate to oblong, acute at the apex, gradually narrowed to 

 the cuneate base, finely or remotely crenately serrate, usually above the middle only, 



dark green, smooth and lustrous, 4'-5' long and l|'-2' wide, persistent; their petioles 

 stout, wing-margined toward the apex, channeled, about ^' long. Flowers about 

 2^' in diameter, expanding in July and continuing to open successively during 

 several weeks, on stout red peduncles thickening from below upward, and 2'-3' 

 long, with usually 3 or 4 ovate minute subfloral bracts; sepals ovate to oval, \' long, 

 ciliate on the margins, with long white hairs, and covered on the outer surface with 

 dense velvety pale lustrous pubescence; petals rounded at the apex, gradually con- 

 tracted at the base, silky-puberulent on the back, white, 1|'-1^' long and 1' broad; 

 stamens united into a shallow fleshy deeply 5-lobed cup pubescent on the inner surface 

 and adnate to the base of the petals; ovary ovate, pubescent, gradually contracted 

 into the stout style. Fruit ovoid; seeds winged, nearly square, slightly concave 

 on the inner and rounded on the outer surface, rugose, dotted with small pale brown 

 excrescences, nearly ^' long and half the length of the thin membranaceous oblique 

 pale brown wing pointed or rounded at the apex; embryo filling the cavity of the 

 seed, nearly straight; cotyledons subcordate, foliaceous. 



A short-lived tree, 60-75 high, with a tall straight trunk 18'-20' in diameter, 

 small branches growing upward at first and ultimately spreading into a rather nar- 

 row compact head, and dark brown rugose branchlets marked during several years 

 by the horizontal slightly obcordate leaf-scars; or rarely alow shrub. Winter-buds 

 \'-$' long, and covered with pale silky lustrous pubescence. Bark of the trunk 

 nearly V thick, deeply divided into regular parallel rounded ridges, their dark 

 red-brown scaly surface broken into many irregular shallow furrows. Wood light, 



