BAYBERRY FAMILY 



Flowers. — April, May. Dioecious, often monoecious ; the in- 

 dividual flower without calyx or corolla, solitary under a scale- 

 like bract. Staminate catkins one-half an inch long, borne at the 

 end of the branch. Scales kidney or heart-shaped with long 

 ]:)oint. Pistillate catkins globular, and bur-like. Ovary one- 

 celled, surrounded by eight long awl-shaped persistent scales. 

 Stamens two to eight; filaments somewhat united below ; an- 

 thers two-celled. 



Fruit. — Nut, ovoid-oblong, smooth, shining, surrounded by 

 bristly scales. September. 



This is a plant that looks like a fern and i^rows like 

 a bush ; fragrant even when flowerless. An inhabitant 

 of the north, it goes south by way of the mountain 

 tops. The pleasant spicy fragrance which it diffuses 

 is due to the vast number of minute grains of resin 

 which are profusely sprinkled over leaf and stem. 



The long slender pinnatilid leaf certainly suggests a 

 fern ; so that the common name seems significant and 

 appropriate. The foliage is ver}^ attractive ; the plant 

 thrives in sterile soils, flourishes at the seaside, and 

 is certainly worthy of cultivation. 



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