0259 



DAPHNE 



Family: DAPHNACEAE [Translator's note: now in family Thymelaeaceae]. 

 Reproductive system: OCTANDRY, MONOGYNY. 



The alpine daphne, Daphne alpina, LINN., is a mountain shrub in our region with 

 a stem three feet high. The leaves are alternate, oval-oblong, pale green, and downy 

 underneath when they're new. The flowers are small, whitish, rather unremarkable, and 

 are situated at the axils of the leaves. The calyx is tubular, with four lobes. The eight 

 stamens are sessile and are arranged in two rows within the tube of the calyx. The ovary 

 is free and surmounted by a short style. The fruit is a berry with one compartment and a 

 single seed. 



FLOWERS: in May and June. 



RANGE: in Dauphine, in clefts in rocks. 



The mezereon, Daphne mezereum, LINN., is a shrub covered with pink flowers at 

 winter's end when the rest of nature is still completely bare. Its stem, about three feet 

 high, is branched and covered with brown bark. The leaves develop only after the flowers 

 have begun to fade; they're oval-lanceolate, entire, and alternate. The flowers, pink or 

 white in color, are sessile and form clusters along the branches. The calicinal envelope 

 and the corolla seem to be fused; they form a tube at the base and four lobes at the top. 

 The eight stamens are arranged in two rows contained inside the tube. The ovary is free; 

 it's crowned by a simple stigma. The fruit is a red berry when ripe. 



RANGE: the mountain woodlands of France. 



NOMENCLATURE. Daphne, the Greek word for laurel, 



