CHAP. XXXVIII.] TREES AND FLOWERS. 327 



who was not a botanist, could ever recognise it in 

 England as the same plant as the dog-wood of his 

 native land. Yet it is capable of enduring frosts as 

 severe and protracted as are ever experienced in the 

 south of England, and the cause of its flowers not 

 attaining their full size in our climate, is probably a 

 want of sufficient intensity of light and heat. 



A great variety of oaks were now in leaf in the 

 Virginian forests, among which I observed the white 

 oak, with its leaves in the shape of a violin, and the 

 willow oak, with long and narrow leaves. The 

 ground underneath these trees was adorned with the 

 pink azalea and many other flowers, among the 

 rest the white violet, a species of phlox, and an ever 

 lasting Gnaphalium. 



The cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is often covered 

 at this season with what is termed here the cedar 

 apple (Podisoma rnacropus) supposed by many of the 

 inhabitants to be the flower or fruit of the tree itself. 

 It is a beautiful orange-coloured fungus, ornamented 

 with tassels, a very conspicuous object after a shower, 

 but shrinking up if exposed to a day s sunshine. 



I made excursions in various directions with my 

 friend, Mr. Gifford, to examine the coal mines north 

 and south of Black heath, near Richmond, and have 

 already given the results of our observations in the 

 first volume.* I afterwards made an expedition with 

 Dr. Wyman, now Professor of Comparative Anatomy 

 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, to examine the geology 

 of the tertiary strata round Richmond, and those 

 (of the Eocene period) displayed in the cliiFs border- 

 Vol. i. p. 279. 



