0389 



MYRTLE. 



Family: MYRTACEAE. 



Reproductive system: ICOSANDRY, MONOGYNY. 



The common myrtle, Myrtus communis, Linn., grows to be only as tall as a small 

 tree in northern parts of Europe; in Spain, Africa, and in the Levant it becomes a large 

 tree. The trunk is straight, branchy, and bushy; the leaves are variable in size. They are 

 opposite, almost sessile, lanceolate, tough, persistent, and have small transparent 

 glandular spots. The flowers are white, solitary, occasionally in pairs, at the axils of the 

 leaves. The calyx, in five sections, is reddish brown. The corolla has five rounded 

 concave petals. There are a large number of stamens. The ovary adheres to the base of the 

 calyx; it's surmounted by a style that's longer than the stamens. The fruit is a dark blue, 

 almost black berry with three compartments and contains several osseous seeds. 



FLOWERS: during the summer. The fruit ripens in the autumn. 



RANGE: temperate climates of Asia and Africa, Italy, and southern France. 



NOMENCLATURE. Several authorities believe that the name Myrtus came from 

 the Greek word Myrsine, the name of a young woman of Athens renowned for her 

 beauty. In German it's called die gewcehnliche oder gemeine Myrthe. Spanish, arrayan. 

 Italian, mirto, mortella. Proven9al, murtra. Hebrew, hadas. 



HISTORY (1). The green of its foliage and the sweet fragrance 



(1) This section is taken from the new Treatise on Trees by Duhamel, most of which I wrote, even though the 

 prefatory inscription is signed by someone else. 



