Okder 108.— LORANTHACE^. 621 



S. and Oan. An interesting shrub or small tree, 10 to 20f high. Leaves alter- 

 nate, petioled, those of the young shoots ovate-lanceolate, others with 3 large 

 lobes. Fls. greenish-yellow, in clustered racemes at the end of the last year's 

 twigs ; drupe blue. Apr. — Jn. Every part of the tree has a pleasant fragrance, 

 and a sweetish, aromatic taste, which is strongest in the bark of the root. 



3. BENZO'IN, Nees. Spice Wood. (Named for its fragrance) 

 which is compared to that of the resinous substance, benzoin.) Flowers 

 dioecious with 4 involucrate scales ; calyx 5 to 6-parted ; $ stamens 9, 

 in 3 rows, the inner lobed and gland-bearing at base ; anthere 2-celled ; 



? stamens 15 to 18, sterile, filiform ; drupe o.bovoid, on a pedicel not 

 thickened. — Ti-ees or shrubs with entire, deciduous Ivs. and small, late- 

 ral clusters of yellow fls. preceding the Ivs. , 



1 B. odoriferuiji Kees. Lvs. obovate-lanceolaie, veinless, entire, deciduous; fls. in 

 clustered umbels; biids arid pedicels smooth. — A shrub 6 to 12f high, in moist 

 woods, U. S. and Can. Lvs. cuneiform and acute at base, 2 to 4' long, half as 

 wide, paler beneath. Fls. pedicellate, in small, sessile umbels, 4 or 5 from each 

 bud. Drupes red. May. (Laurus Benzoin, L.) ' 



2 B. mellisscefolium Nees. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, abrupt or cordate at base, 

 veiny, pubescent beneath ; fls. in clustered umbels ; buds and pecMcels viUo'us. — 

 Borders of shallow ponds or exsiccated swamps, S. States. Shrub 2 to 3f high, 

 with running roots and virgate shoots. Lvs. with prominent veins. Fls. about 

 3 from each bud. Drupes rod. Feb., March. (Laurus mellissasfolia AValt.) 



4. TETRAN'THERA, Jacq. Pond Spice. (Gr. rtVpa, four-fold, 

 dvOepdg, flowery ; four flowers in the umbel.) Flowers dicecious, in 

 little stalked umbels, with a 4 or 5-leaved deciduous involucre ; calyx 

 4 or 6-parted, deciduous ; $ stamens 9, in 3 rows ; anthers unequally 

 4-celled (2 cells above and 2 below) ; ? stamens 12 to 15 rudiments ; 

 stigma dilated, 2-lobed, smooth ; drupe naked. — Lvs. deciduous. Fls. 

 yellow, appearing before the lvs. 



T. genfcul^ta Nees. Branches divaricate and geniculate ; lvs. small, oblong and 

 oval, nearly smooth, cuneate at base, mostly obtuse at apex ; umbellets terminal, 

 glabrous, on distinct pedicels. — In sandy swamps, borders of lagoons, Va. to Fla. 

 Shrub 8 to 15f high, with branches and branchlets remarkably crooked and strag- 

 gling forming an angle of 90° at every fork. Lvs. 1' to 18" long, 5 to 8" wide. 

 Drupes red. Feb., Mar. (Laurus geniculata "Walt.) 



Order CVIII. LORANTHACE^ Loranths. 



Shnibby plants parasitic on trees, with thick, opposite, exstipulate leaves. Flow- 

 ers mostly declinous, an adherent calyx of 4 to 8 lobes, with stamens of the same 

 number, opposite the calyx lobes. Ovary 1-celled, becoming a fleshy fruit with one 

 albuminous seed. Fig. 'i1, D. 



Genera 25, species 400, mostly tropioal in America and Asia, a. few flourisliingr northward aa 

 far as our latitude. They possess tho remarkable property of planting tliemselves on trees and 

 subsistina on their juices. They are slightly astringent. Bird-lime is formed in part- from the 

 viscid pulp of tho fruit of the Mistletoe. 



PHORODEN'DRON, Nutt. Mistletoe. (Gr. 0wp, a thief, divdpov, 

 a tree ; they live on stolen food.) Dioecious ; calyx 2 to 4 (mostly 3)- 

 lobed, lobes erect ; 6 anther sessile on the base of each lobe, 2-celled, 

 tho cells divergent ; ? calyx adherent to the ovary ; stigmas sessile ; 

 stamens ; fruit a pulpy berry.— Herbage fleshy, yellowish green. Sts. 

 jointed, brittle, woody, "firmly engrafted on the limbs of trees, especially 

 Oaks, Elms, Apples, '&c. Fls. imbedded in the jointed rachis. 



