296 



DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SHRUBS 



Swamp Bay (514) — Persea pubfecens, — wild from North Carolina 

 south, is a small tree or shrub with the branchlets and other parts hairy, 

 creamy white flowers (J inch), and dark blue drupes f inch long. 



Alligator ' Pear ' (515) — Persea gratfasima, — of California, and 

 Florida, has a slightly pear-shaped green fruit, several inches long, used 

 as a salad and very palatable. A tree 20 to 30 feet high. 



[Layers; twig cuttings.] 



Fig. 522. — White Garland Daphne. 



Fig. 523. — Silky Daphne. 



Sassafras. Sassafras (516) — Sassafras variif61ium (S. officinMe) — 

 is an aromatic shrub or tree growing in some cases to the height of 100 

 feet. It has alternate simple entire to 3-lobed leaves without notches or 

 serrations. As the plant is dioecious, only those with pistillate flowers have 

 the blue 1-seeded fruit, J inch long, on red stems. Tlie flowers bloom be- 

 fore the leaves are expanded. The bark on young twigs is green with a 

 purplish shade on the light side. The bark of the roots is peculiarly 

 aromatic, and is often used in beer making. 



[Seeds ; suckers ; root cuttings.] 



Capparis. This genus of over 100 mostly tropic plants is here repre- 

 sented by the one species fiom which the genus is named, Caper-bcsh 

 (517) or Caper-tree — Capparis spinbsa, — from which capers are made 



