136 



PORTUGAL LAUREL. — PRUNUS LUSI 

 TANICA. 



Natural order, Pomacece. Rosacece, Juss. 

 A genus of the Icosandria Monogynia class. 



" Hail, Albion, native country ! See, how changed 

 Thy once grim aspect ! how adorn 'd and gay 

 Thy howling forests, where together ranged 

 The naked hunter and his savage prey 1" West. 



This beautiful evergreen, which is one of 

 the greatest ornaments of our shrubbery, 

 was first obtained from Portugal, on which 

 account it is called the Portugal laurel, al- 

 though it is very doubtful whether it be a 

 native of that soil. The French name it 

 Laurus Maderiensis, and in their own lan- 

 guage, Laurier de Madtre ; and we are dis- 

 posed to believe, that it is indigenous to the 

 Azores as well as Madeira. The Azores lie 

 in the same latitude with Portugal, and the 

 Portuguese name for this plant is Azoureiro, 

 which strongly indicates their having pro- 

 cured it from these islands. 



