134 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



usual. Mj/rtle, the popular name, is Dutch, and is a corruption of myrtus, the 

 generic name. In America the periwinkle, which belongs to a different order 

 of plants, is popularly called myrtle. 



History. — The home of the myrtle is western Asia, Asia Minor, and other 

 countries of the Levant. It has been known from the earliest historic periods, 

 and is said to have been growing upon the site of the city of Kome when it 

 was founded ; it was common in Egypt before the beginning of the present 

 century. 



Pickering makes its home near the Persian Gulf, whence it has been carried 

 to Egypt and other countries of the Mediterranean. It is spoken of by the 

 earliest historians. Anecdotes are rife illustrating its use and value, but we 

 have not room for them. 



Use. — The medicinal properties of the myrtle are mostly stimulant and 

 astringent. 



It was formerly a favorite ilavorer of wine and food ; the flavoring substance 

 resides in the young twigs, the leaves, and the berries. The leaves are said 

 to make a very tolerable tea. It was held in great esteem by the ancient 

 Greeks ; and a place Avas set apart in all their markets for its sale. It was 

 used by both the Greeks and Romans for wreaths to decorate victors in the 

 Olympian and other games. The Jews held it in great veneration as an em- 

 blem of peace, and among them it constituted a part of the bride's decoration. 

 It is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures. Tlie Mahometans hold that it is 

 one of the pure things that Adam carried with liim out of Paradise. It was 

 an emblem of authority as well as of honor, and worn by the magistrates of 

 Athens when in the exercise of their duties. 



The fruit and leaves are both used for tanning goat-skins. 



The plant is a beautiful object, a favorite in planted grounds, and on that 

 account has an important commercial value. 



EUGENIA, L. Calyx 4-lobed, rarely 5. Petals 4 or 5, free or united. 

 Stamens numerous, inserted in the throat of the calyx, and on the 

 receptacle, in several rows ; filaments free, threadlike ; anthers 2- 

 celled. Ovary 2-3- or more- celled, ova numerous. Style simple ; 

 stigma terminal. Berry crowned with the persistent limb of the 

 calyx. Leaves opposite, entke, dotted with pellucid spots, Avithout 

 stipules. Flowers axillary or terminal, in solitary cymes, or panicles, 

 2-bracted, white, or purple. Fruit black, red, or purple. Trees. 



L E. caryophyllata, Thunb. (Cloves.) Trunk 20 to 40 feet high, branching 

 regularly into a hemispherical or conical head of great beauty. Bark yellowisli- 

 gray. Leaves opposite, numerous, evergreen, oval, acute at each end, entire, 

 smooth, thick, dotted with pellucid spots, dark-green and shining above, paler 

 beneath, midrib and lateral veins prominent, petioles short, Idade 3 to 5 inches 

 long. Flowers axillary or terminal, in loose, small cymes ; bracts small and 

 falling off ; calyx half an inch long, fleshy, round below, upper part divided 

 into 4 triangular, spreading teeth. Petals 4, tightly imbricated in the bud, 

 forming a smooth, spherical head, fringed by the teeth of the calyx, falling 

 off early. Stamens many, inserted on a raised disk ; filaments as long as the 

 petals, spreading ; anthers small, roundish, opening lengthwise. Ovary in- 

 closed in the calyx, small, 2-celled ; ovules many ; style simple, shorter 

 than the stamens, slender, tapering. Fruit in shape like an olive, but not so 



