388 NETTLE FAMILY. 



F. el&stica, Roxb. India-Rubber Tree of E. Indies (not that of S. 

 Amer.); tree cult, in conservatories for its beautiful leaves, 6'-10' long, 

 oval-oblong, entire, thick, smooth, bright green, glossy above. 



F. pOmila, Linn. (F. repens and F. stipulata). China; a delicate 

 creeping species, fixing itself firmly by rootlets and covering walls in con- 

 servatories; leaves 1' or less long, oblong-ovate, with unequal partly 

 heart-shaped base. 



7. MACLTJRA, OSAGE ORANGE. (Named for the late Mr. Maolure, 

 founder of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.) 



M. aurantlaca, Nutt. Common 0., or Bois d'arc (Bow Wood, the 

 tough yellow wood used for bows by the Indians). Low bushy tree from 

 Kan. and Mo., S.; multiplying rapidly by its running roots; planted for 

 hedges, especially W.; armed with slender and very sharp spines ; leaves 

 lance-ovate, entire, very glossy ; flowers spring. 



S. MORUS, MULBERRY. (Old Greek and Latin name.) Trees. 

 Leaves heart-shaped or ovate, mostly serrate, often palmately lobed ; 

 short catkin-like spikes axillary or lateral ; flowers spring ; fruit in 

 summer, eatable. (Lessons, Figs. 408-410.) 



* Leaves bright and glabrous, and mostly glossy above. 



U. dlba, Linn. White Mulberry. Leaves light green, rather small, 

 smooth or very nearly so above and often shining, the veins prominent 

 beneath and whitish, variously lobed or divided, the basal lobes unequal, 

 the teeth large and for the most part rounded or nearly obtuse, the 

 branches gray or grayish-yellow. Fruits small in the half wild form, 

 which is common along fences in the E. States, whitish or purple, but in 

 the cultivated varieties, as New American, an inch or two long and purple- 

 black. The commonest mulberry of the N. From China. The Russian 

 Mulberry is a form of it (var. Tatdrica, Loudon). 



# * Leaves dull green, mostly more or less rough. 



M. latifdlia, Poiret. (M. multicaulis). Multicaulis Mulberry. A 

 strong-growing small tree or giant shrub, with dull, roughish, and very 

 large long-pointed leaves, which are seldom or never prominently lobed, 

 and which are often convex above, bearing black sweet fruit. Original 

 of the Downing Mulberry, although the New American (M. alba) often 

 passes for that variety ; also used for stocks upon which to graft other 

 sorts. Not fully hardy in the Northern States. Once much recommended 

 here for the silkworm. China. 



HI. nigra, Linn. Black Mulberry. Leaves dark dull green, rather 

 large, tapering into a prominent point, commonly very rough above, 

 usually not lobed, the base equal or very nearly so upon both sides, the 

 teeth rather small and close, the branches brown ; fruit large and sweet, 

 black or very dark-colored. Native of Asia, probably of Persia and adjacent 

 . regions. Cult, in the Old World for its fruit, but in America it is very little 

 grown. It is not hardy, except in protected places, in N. Eng. and N. Y. 



M. rubra, Linn. Red Mulberry. Leaves usually large, very various, 

 those on the young shoots deeply lobed, with very oblique and rounded 

 sinuses in the base of which there are no teeth, the upper surface rough 

 and the lower one soft or variously pubescent, the teeth medium or com- 

 paratively small and either rounded or bluntish. Generally distributed 

 from western N. Eng. to Neb. , and southward to the Gulf, being much 

 more abundant and attaining a larger size in the south. The fruit is deep 

 red, or when fully ripe, almost black, variable in size, often very good, 

 nearly always having an agreeable slight acidity. Also cult, as Hicks, 

 Stubbs, etc. 



