236 Ornamental Shrubs. 



The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, gradually narrowing at 

 the top, entire, serrulate, glabrous, coriaceous, and glossy. 

 This is adapted to general cultivation in all parts of the 

 country. L. axillaris takes its name from the fact that 

 the flowers spring from the axils of the upper leaves or 

 small branches, though this is scarcely a peculiarity of the 

 family. They are white and much admired, especially as 

 they appear very early, with their ovate, cylindrical corolla 

 beset with scaly bracts. The foliage is oval, pointed, and 

 marked with glandular hairs beneath, while the young 

 branches are clothed with powdery down. The plant 

 rises from two to three feet in height and usually blooms 

 in May. L. davisice is a California species not much 

 known in the Atlantic States. It is said to be one of the 

 best of the class, having the usual recurved, white, pendu- 

 lous flowers, and good foliage. Its hardiness has scarcely 

 been sufficiently tested to justify promiscuous planting in 

 the extreme north of our Atlantic slope. L. recurva is 

 also a dwarf species, with little to especially recommend 

 it unless a small plant of the kind is wanted for borders 

 and rockwork. The flowers are good, of the typical color, 

 and the branches more spreading than in most of the 



other forms. 



ALNUS— Alder. 



THE alders, a genus of Betulacece, grow chiefly in 

 moist places and along the banks of brooks and 

 streams, but all the members of the family can be 

 transplanted without difficulty, and maintained in almost 

 any reasonably good soil. The family embraces about 

 a dozen species, six of which are natives of North Amer- 



