CHAP. C1X. 



il/YRICA CEiE. MYRl CA. 



205' 



1967 



Plantarum) called it Gale ; Carduus and L'Gbel, .Elaeagnus ; and Dalechamp 

 and Parkinson, i?hus; the latter supposing it to be the .Rhus sylvestris, or 

 wild sumach, of Pliny ; while the Danish professor, Simon Paulli, asserted it 

 to be the same as the Chinese tea tree. According to Gerard, this plant, in 

 his time, grew so abundantly in the Isle of Ely, that the inhabitants made 

 faggots of it (which they called goule sheaves) to heat their ovens. In more 

 modern times, the twigs are laid by country people among clothes, to give 

 them an agreeable smell, and to keep away the moths. The Welsh lay 

 branches on their beds to keep off the fleas. The plant is also used, both 

 in Wales and Sweden, to dye wool yellow, and to tan calf-skins. The 

 leaves are bitter, and are sometimes used instead of hops in brewing 

 beer ; but, unless boiled a long time, they are reported to give a head- 

 ach. A strong decoction of the leaves and twigs is used, in Swe- 

 den, to destroy bugs; and both the Highlanders and the Welsh give 

 an infusion of the leaves to children, to kill worms. In Scot- 

 land, the. inhabitants stuff beds with the leaves. The berries 

 are put in beer, in the same manner as those of Cocculus 

 indicus, to make it heady and intoxicating ; and, when dry, 

 they are used, at St. Leger, in the neighbourhood of Paris, 

 as spice. In a fresh state, they yield an essential oil by 

 distillation. Linnaeus states that the catkins, when boiled, 

 will throw up a scum like wax. The gale is the badge of the 

 Highland clan Campbell. A variety with larger leaves, &c, 

 is mentioned by Mirbel, and a figure of it given in the Mem. Mus. y 14. 

 p. 474. t. 28., of which our^g. 1967. is a reduced copy. 



* 2. M. ceri'fera L. The common Wax-bearing, or American, Candleberry 



Myrtle. 



Identification. Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 745. ; 'Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 260. ; N. Du Ham., 2. p. 190 ■ 



Lam. Encyc, 2. p. 592. ; Lin. Sp., 1453. ; Reich., 4. p. 244. ; Hort. Cliff, 455. ; Gron. Virg., 120 • 



Kalmlt.,2.p.212. 

 Synonymes. M. cerifera angustifblia Ait. Hort. Kew.,3. p. 396. ; Myrtus brabantica, &c., Pluk 



Aim., 260. t. 48., Cat. Car., 1. p. 69. ; Cerier de la Louisiane, Fr. 

 Engravings. Pluk. Aim., t. 48. f. 9. ; Cat. Car., 1. 1. 69. 

 The Sexes. Only the male is in the Hackney Arboretum ; but, as seeds are annually imported from 



America, the female is doubtless in the country in many places. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, serrated, flat, somewhat shining. 

 {Lam. Encyc.) A large shrub, from 5ft. to 12ft. high, and upwards; a 

 native of North America. Introduced in 1699, and flowering in May 

 or June. 



Varieties. 

 & M. c. 2 latifolia Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 1., iii. p. 396.; M. c. media 

 Michoc. Fl. Bor. Amer., ii. p. 228.; M. carolinensis Willd. Sp. PL 

 iv. p. 746., Ait. Hort. Keiv., edit. 2., v. 

 p. 379., Mill. Diet, No. 3., Pursh Fl. 

 Amer. Sept., ii. p. 620. ; M. pennsylvanica 

 Lam. Fncyc. ii. p. 592., N. Du Ham., ii. . 

 p. 190. t. 55., and our Jig. 1968.; M. c. 

 sempervirens Hort. ; Myrtus brabantica 

 Cat. Car., i. t. 13. ; Cerier de Pennsyl- 

 vanie, Fr., Carolinischer Wachstrauch, 

 Ger. The broad-leaved American Candle- 

 berry Myrtle. — This variety has the leaves 

 broader than those of the species, and an 

 arborescent stem. According to the Nou- 

 veau Du Hamel, it is hardier than M. 

 cerifera ; and, in the garden at Malmaison, 

 near Paris, has attained the height of 8 ft. It [ s mentioned by 

 Catesby, as having its leaves broader, and more serrated than the 

 common American candleberry myrtle ; and it appears that it was 



