298 



DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SHRUBS 



Ddphne. The Daphnes are very interesting small shrubs with clus- 

 tered bright colored sweet-scented small flowers, in winter and early spring. 

 The blossoms are 4-lobed, lilac-shaped, with 8 stamens included in the 

 tubular portion. The fruit is a leathery 1-seeded drupe. Only four or 

 live species are hardy North but many are or conld be cultivated out- 

 doors South. Most species have alternate simple entire-edged leaves, a 

 few have opposite leaves. All have thick or thickish, and more than half 

 the species evergreen, leaves. The best method for determining Daphnes 

 from other plants with tubular 4-lobed flowers is to notice that the bright 



Fig. 520. — Wood Daphne. 



Fig. 527. — Pontic Daphne. 



flower part in such shrubs as the lilac, the privet, and the true olives has 

 a green calyx at base with 2 stamens at the mouth of the corolla ; the 

 Bouvardias have the same kind of calyx at base and 4 stamens at mouth 

 of flow^er ; the Buddleias have a calyx at base and 4 stamens included 

 in the tube about halfway down ; while the Daphnes have no outside 

 part (in this case the bright part is a calyx and there is no corolla) 

 and there are 8 small stamens in the tube. 



Most Daphnes grow well in either shade or sun. 



[Seeds — slow to germinate; layers; twig cuttings.] 



