CHAP. XIX. TEWSSTROM J A* CEJE. GORDO^NIA. 379 



Derivation. Named in honour of Alexander Gordon, a celebrated nurseryman at Mile End, near 

 London, who lived in the time of Philip Miller. 



Gen. Char. Calyx of 5 rounded coriaceous sepals. Petals 5, somewhat 



adnate to the urceolus of the stamens. Style crowned by a peltate 



5-lobed stigma. Capsules 5-celled, 5-valved ; cells 2 — 4-seeded. Seeds 



ending in a leafy wing fixed to the central column, filiform. (Don's Mill., 



i. p. 573.) — There are only two hardy species, both sub-evergreen. 



J I. Gordo v nlj Lasia'nthus L. The woolly-flowered Gordonia, or Loblolly 



Bay. 



Identification. Lin. Mant, 570. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 528. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 573. 



Synonymes. Hypericum Lasianthus Lin. Sp., 1101., Catesb. Carol., 1. t. 44, Pluk. Amalth., t. 352. ; 



Gordonia a Feuilles glabres, and Alcee de la Floride, Fr. ; langstielige Gordonie, Ger. 

 Engravings. Cav. Diss., 6. t. 171. ; Sims, Bot. Mag., t. 668. ; Catesb. Carol., 1. t. 44. ; Pluk. Amalth , 



t. 352. ; and out fig. 93. 



Spec. Char., §c. Pedicels axillary, usually shorter than 

 the leaves. Leaves oblong, coriaceous, smooth, ser- 

 rated. Calyx silky. Capsules conoid, acuminated. 

 (Don's Mill., i. p. 573.) A tree growing, in its native 

 country, to the height of 50 ft. or 60 ft., with a 

 diameter of 18 in. or 20 in.; and a straight trunk of 

 from 25 ft. to 30 ft. " The small divergency of its 

 branches near the trunk gives it a regularly pyramidal 

 form ; but, as they ascend, they spread more loosely, 

 like those of other trees of the forest. The bark 

 is very smooth, while the tree is less than 6 in. in 

 diameter : on old trees it is thick, and deeply furrowed. 

 The leaves are evergreen, from 3 in. to 6 in. long, 

 alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly toothed, and smooth and shining on the 

 upper surface. The flowers are more than 1 in. broad, white, and sweet- 

 scented : they begin to appear about the middle of July, and continue 

 blooming in succession during two or three months. This tree possesses 

 the agreeable singularity of bearing flowers when it is only 3 ft. or 4 ft. high. 

 The fruit is an oval capsule, divided into five compartments, each of which 

 contains small, black, winged seeds." (Sylva Americana, p. 164, 165.) In 

 England, the Gordons Lasianthus is seldom seen otherwise than as a 

 sub-evergreen bush, of 5 ft. or 6 ft. in height ; but it flowers beautifully, even 

 at that size. It sometimes, however, reaches the height of 10 ft. or 12 ft. 

 Geography , History, fyc. The loblolly bay has a comparatively limited 

 range in North America, being confined to the swamps near the sea coast, 

 from the Floridas to Lower Louisiana. " In the pine-barrens, tracts of 50 or 

 100 acres are met with, at intervals, which, being lower than the adjacent 

 ground, are kept constantly moist by the waters collected in them after the 

 great rains. These spots are entirely covered with the loblolly bay, and are 

 called bay swamps. Although the layer of vegetable mould is only 3 in. or 

 4 in. thick, and reposes upon a bed of barren sand, the vegetation of these 

 trees is surprisingly luxuriant." (Sylva Amer., p. 164.) This plant seems to 

 have been first recorded by Catesby ; and it was soon afterwards described 

 by Ellis, in the Philosophical Transactions ; and figured there, as well as in 

 Catesby's Carolina. It was introduced into England, about 1768, by Benjamin 

 Bewick, Esq. ; but it has never been very successfully cultivated, apparently 

 from neglecting to imitate its natural habitat, a swampy soil in a low sheltered 

 situation. The largest plants in the neighbourhood of London are at Purser's 

 Cross, and are not above 10 ft. high. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of this tree, in America, is considered of 

 little use ; but its bark is of great value for tanning, for which purpose it is 

 employed throughout the maritime parts of the southern states, and of the 

 Floridas. A bark fit for the purpose of tanning is more valuable, in America, 

 than might at first sight be imagined ; because, though they have many sorts 

 of oak, there are very few the bark of which contains a sufficient quantity of 

 tannin to be worth employing by the tanner. Hence the Americans import 



