252 MONOCHLAMVDE^ 



I. HiPPOPHAE [Sea buckthorn) 



I. FI. rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn, Sallow-Thorn). — The only 

 species. A thorny shrub, 4-5 feet high, with very narrow, silvery 

 leaves, small greenish flowers, which appear with the leaves in May, 

 and numerous orange- coloured berries, which are of an acid flavour 

 and very juicy. The stems, roots, and foliage, are said to impart 

 a yellow dye. SandhiUs and cliffs on the eastern coast of England. 

 — Fl. May. Shrub. 



Natural Order LXIX 



THYMELACE^.— Daphne Tribe 



Calyx tubular, coloured, 4- rarely 5-cleft, occasionally having 

 scales in its mouth ; stamens 8, 4, or 2, inserted in the tube of the 

 perianth ; ovary i-celled ; style I ; stigma undivided ; fruit, a 

 i-seeded nut or drupe. Shrubs with undivided laurel-like leaves, 

 remarkable for their tough bark, which is of a highly acrid nature, 

 causing excessive pain if chewed, and raising a blister if applied to 

 the skin. Both bark and root of Mezereon (Daphne Mezereon) are 

 used in medicine ; they are of a very violent effect, whether taken 

 inwardly or applied externally. The berries of Spurge-Laurel are 

 poisonous to all animals except birds. In the East the bark of 

 several species is manufactured into ropes and paper. The inner 

 bark of Lagetta lintearia, when macerated and cut into thin pieces, 

 assumes a beautiful net-like appearance, whence it has received 

 the name of Lace-bark. In the south of Europe two plants belong- 

 ing to this tribe are used to dye wood yellow. The seeds of Ino- 

 carpus edulis are eaten when roasted, and have the taste of Chest- 

 nuts. Daphne Japonica, or Indica, with its varieties, is commonly 

 cultivated in conservatories and gardens for the sake of the deli- 

 cious fragrance of its flowers. The only British genus belonging 

 to this Tribe is — 



I. Daphne (Spurge-Laurel). — Characters given above. (Name, 

 the Greek for a Laurel, which it resembles, in the character of its 

 foliage.) 



I. Daphne (Spurge-laurel) 



I. D. laureola (Spurge-Laurel). — Flowers in drooping, axillary 

 clusters ; leaves evergreen. A low shrub, about 2 feet high, very 

 little branched, and remarkable for its smooth, erect stems, which 

 are bare of leaves, except at the summit. The leaves are smooth, 

 shining, and evergreen ; the flowers are green, and in mild weather 

 fragrant ; the berries, which are egg-shaped and nearly black, are, 

 as has been noted above, poisonous. From the tendency of this 

 plant to bear its proportionally large leaves only on the summit of 

 the stem, it has some resemblance to a group of Palms. It is used 



