4i6 THE STORAX FAMILY. 



FOUR=WINGED SNOWDROP TREE. SILVER=BELL TREE. 



RATTLE BOX. {Plate C XX XV J.) 



Moh rodendrnn Caf-olin it m . 



Flmvers : growing in loose, drooping clusters along the branches and appearing 

 with, or before the leaves. Calyx: short; four-toothed. Corolla: campanulate ; 

 four or five-parted, the lobes being often crenate. Stamens : eight to sixteen. 

 Pistil: one. Seed-vessels: long-oblong; four-winged and conspicuously tipped 

 with a remnant of the style. Leaves : slender-petioled ; ovate, or oblong, with 

 pointed apex and mostly rounded or wedge-shaped base ; slightly serrate; bright 

 green and glabrous above ; pubescent underneath ; thin. Branches: reddish 

 brown, or greyish ; ridged. 



The first time I saw the snowdrop tree it grew on a mountain-side high 

 in the Appalachian system, where in beauty and variety the flora is unrivalled 

 in this country. It was well grown, and closed about with other vegetation, 

 but from every side of it could be seen its large, winged pods as they 

 ceaselessly moved with the wind. When in blossom, however, is the time 

 to find it one of our most lovely trees. Its bell-shaped, drooping flowers 

 have all the fragile purity of early snowdrops, and yet are more approach- 

 able. They unfold also when there is little apparent animation in the plant 

 world. Insects seldom attack them, and throughout their day they are like 

 sprites gambolling through the boughs. When it became necessary to 

 rename the tree, there was good-natured rivalry between Dr. Britton and 

 Prof. Greene as to the most fitting title with which to honour Dr. Charles 

 Mohr as a dedication. There was then some uncertainty as to how best to fit 

 Dr. Mohr's name into a generic one. Carlomohria and Mohria were among 

 the suggestions offered. Finally, however, the name Mohrodendron, with 

 which we are now familiar, was regarded by many as the most appropriate. 



M. dipterMiii is noticeably different from the silver-bell tree in having the 

 lobes of its corolla cleft almost to the base. In March they are fully blown 

 while the leaves then are only partly developed. The seed-pods, more- 

 over, have but two wings, almost if not quite as broad as the pods. 



LARGE=LEAVED STORAX. {Plate CXXXVIII) 



Storax grandifblia . 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Storax, ll^hite. Very fragrant. . Florida to Virginia. March-May. 



Flowers : growing in loose racemes, the pedicels and peduncle covered with a 



. dense tomentum. Calyx: with five unequal, pubescent lobes. Corolla : with five 



oblong, narrow lobes somewhat pubescent on the outside. Stamens : ten. Pistil: 



one; style : long, exserted ; slender. Capside: ovoid; very puberulent. Leaves: 



from three to nine inches long ; obovate, or oval with short pubescent petioles, 



