CLASS ENNEANDRIA. 



161 



Fig. 133. 



CLASS IX. — ENNEANDRIA. 

 Order Monogynia, 



This is also a very small class. In ihe first 

 Order we find the genus Laurus, which ii> 

 cludes the cinnamon, bay, sassafras, cam- 

 phor, spice-bush, &c. The bay {Laurus no- 

 bilis) is a native of Italy ; the Romans consi- 

 dered it a favourite of the Muses. The em- 

 peror Tiberius wore it not only as a triumphal 

 crown, but as a protection against thunder ; 

 ^\ it being thought that Jupiter had a particular 

 regard' for the plant. The laurel, as well as 

 the olive, was considered as an emblem of 

 peace ; it was sometimes called laurus paci- 

 fera, the peace-bearing laurel. Branches of 

 laurel carried among contending armies, were 

 considered as a signal for the cessation of 

 arms. Poets crowned with laurel, were called 

 laureates. Camphor is the produce of the Laurus camphora, a large 

 tree which grows in Japan. " The Laurus cinnamomum is a tree 

 which grows to the height of twenty feet ; it sends out numerous 

 branches crowned with a smooth bark. The leaves are of a bright 

 green, standing in opposite pairs. The petals are six, of a greenish 

 white colour. "The fruit is a pulpy pericarp enclosing a nut. This 

 tree is a native of Ceylon, where it grows very common in woods 

 and hedges. The imported cinnamon is the inner bark (liber) of 

 the tree ; it is remarkable that the leaves, fruit, and root, all yield oil 

 of very different qualities. That produced from the leaves is called 

 the oil of cloves; that obtained from the fruit is of a thick consist- 

 ence, very fragrant, and is made into candles for the use of the king; 

 the bark of the roots affords an aromatic oil, called the oil of cam- 

 phor. The Sassafras-tree (Laurus sassafras) is a native American 

 plant ; when first introduced into Europe, it sold for a great price, 

 the oil being highly valued for medicinal uses. It grows on the bor- 

 ders of streams and in woods ; it is often no larger than a shrub ; 

 its flowers are yellow ; its fruit, blue-berries. The Laurus benzoin, 

 called Spice-bush, has scarlet berries, and is an aromatic plant."* 



Fig. 133, a,t represents a flower of the Butomas, {flowering rush ;) 

 the petals are six ; they are ovate. The umbellatus is the only spe- 

 cies known ; the flowers grow in rose-coloured umbels. It is found 

 in wet grounds, and near the margin of lakes and ponds. 



Order Vrigynia, 



The third Order presents us with but one genus; but this renders 

 the order important ; it is the Rhubarb, {Rheum.) In one species, the 

 Rheum tartaricum, the leaves are acid, and on this account, M'hen 

 young, they are used for making pies. This plant is a native of Tar- 

 tary, but now common in our gardens. The R^^viApalmatum is the 

 plant which produces the medicinal rhubarb ; this is obtained from 

 the roots, which are thick, fleshy, and yellow. This plant is cultiva- 

 ted in England, and is remarkable for the rapidity of its growth. An 

 Enghsh writer,! asserts that its stem has been known to grow more 

 than eleven feet in three months; its leaves are five feet in circum- 



t See also Appendix, Plate viii. Fig. 4. 



t Woodville. 



Class En neandria— Different species of the genus Laurus— Describe the different 

 ?Decies of Laurus— Butomas— What genus is found in the order Trigynia 1 

 14* 



