CHAP. XC1 



XAURA'CEJE. LAV RUS. 



1305 



34 9. L. gemcula'ta Michx. The knee-flexed-ftraracfod Laurel, 



7%. 



Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 244 ; J'crs. Synops., 1. p. 450. ; Walt. Fl. Car., p. 133. , 



Pursh Fl. Amor. Sept., 1. p.£76. ; Hot. Mag., t. 1471. 

 Synonynies. L. Euosmus geniculata Nutt. Gen., 1. p. 2f> ( J. ; /,. aestivalis Willd. Sp. Pl. t c 2. p. 484., 



according to Pursh. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., 1. 1471.; and our fig. 1173. 



N/;<r. Char.y Sfc. Branches divaricate and flexuous. Leaves cuneate-oblong, 

 mostly obtuse, about U in. long, in many instances less than half* an inch 

 wide, entire, glabrous, except upon the under side near the base. Flowers 

 in terminal small umbels, that are upon con- 

 spicuous footstalks and smooth. Anthers 

 unequally 4-celled. Sexes polygamous. 

 {Nutt. Gen.,i. p. 259.) Nuttall adds that 

 this kind grows from 8 ft. to 12 ft. high, 

 and that the branches are flexuous, grey, 

 smooth, and so remarkably divaricated as 

 to give a characteristic appearance to the 

 pods which they border ; and that its native 

 localities are, invariably, sandy swamps, and 

 the margins of lagoons, from Virginia to 

 Florida. Dr. Sims has noted that the 

 zigzag direction and deep colour of the branches distinguish the L. geniculata 

 at first sight ; and that he could not perceive in its bark any of the aromatic 

 scent so remarkable in most of the genus, and which is so clearly percep- 

 tible in L. Benzoin. Pursh states that the flowers are yellow, and the 

 berries globose and scarlet. We received a plant of this species from Bar- 

 tram's Botanic Garden, in 1831: it appeared very distinct; but, owing 

 to the crowded state of our garden, and the want of moisture, it died in the 

 summer of 1834. Price of plants, at New York, 1 dollar. 



A pp. I. Half-hardy Species qfl^aurdcece. 



Cinna?nbmum Camphora Swt. Laurus Cdmphora L., the Camphor tree, {N. Du Ham , 2. t. 35. ; 

 But. Mag., t. 2rt.;8"; and our fig.WH.) is a native of Japan, and other parts of Eastern India, where 

 it grows to the height of the European lime tree, and makes a fine appearance, from its glossy 



shining leaves. The wood is white, with reddish waxy 

 leaves, and the odour of camphor is exhaled from it, and 

 from every other part of the plant. Camphor, and camphor 

 oil, are well known medicines, which are obtained from 

 this .tree. Camphor is considered one of the principal 

 diaphoretics, and is of a particularly subtile and penetrating 



nature quickly diffusing itself through the whole human frame. It is used in a great variety of 

 medica'l preparations. Camphor is obtained from the tree by splitting the wood into small pieces, 

 and distilling it with water in an iron retort, covered with an earthen or wooden pot, in the hollow 

 of which hay or straw is placed, to which the camphor adheres as it rises with the steam of the water. 

 It is at first of a brownish white, and in very small particles, but, after being redistilled, it is com- 

 pressed into the lumps which we see in the shops. The camphor used in Europe is chiefly imported 

 from Japan. Camphor oil is obtained by making an incision in the trunk of the tree, and inserting 

 a small tube of reed, through which the sap exudes, from which the oil is obtained by skimming. 

 In British gardens the camphor tree is commonly kept in green-houses or cold-pits; and we have no 

 doubt whatever, that, with a moderate degree of protection, it would live against a conservative wall. 

 C. vh-um Swt. ; /.aurus Cinnambmum L. ; L. Cassia Bot. Mag., 1K36. ; and our fig. 117 j. ; the 



