496 



ARBORETUM AND FRUT1CETUM. 



PART 



Genus 1. 



TTCT 



NYMIS Tourn. The Euonymus, or Spindle Tree. Lin. Syst. 

 Tetra-Hex-andria Monogynia. 



. Tourn. Inst., t. S88. : Lin. Gen., 271. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 3. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 3. 



<nes. Fusain, Bonnet de Pretre, or Bois a Lardoire, Fr. ; Spindelbaum, Ger. 



.'/I. The word Eu6nymus is formed from the Greek, and signifies of good repute ; and Smith 

 states that it has been applied to this genus, or, at least, to the species E. europa^us, by antiphrasis, 

 as tli is species is fetid in every part when bruised, and is esteemed poisonous. {Eng. Flora, i. p. 829.) 

 The French word Fusain means a spindle, alluding to the use of the wood for making spindles. 

 Bonnet de Pretre alludes to the form of the capsules, which, when opened, bear some resemblance 

 to a priest's cap ; and it is called Bois it Lardoire from the use made of the wood for skewers or 

 landing-pins. The German name is literally spindle tree. 



i 1. E. EiROPiE v us L. The European Euonymus, or Spindle Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 28& ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 4. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 3. 



mes. F. vulgaris Milt. Diet. ; Prick-timber Gerard. ; Louse Berry, Dogwood, Gatteridge 

 lusain d 'Europe, Bonnet de Pretre commun, Fr. ; gemeine Spindelbaum, Ger. 



Derivation. The English name Prick-timber, or Prick-wood, alludes to the employment of the wood 

 in making toothpicks and skewers, which were formerly called pricks; and it is called Dogwood, 

 because a decoction of its leaves was used to wash dogs, to free them from vermin. The names of 

 Gatteridge Tree and Gaitre Tree are derived from a Saxon word signifying a cover ; from the 

 capsule hanging, like a cover, over the fruit. It is called Louse Berry, because the powdered leaves 

 and lurries were formerly put on the heads of children to chase away lice. 



Encravings. Smith's Eng. Bot., t. 362. ; Hayne Abbild., t. 16. ; E. of PI., 2912. ; our fig. 164. ; and 

 the plate of the tree in our Second Volume. 



Sj . Char., Sec. Branches smooth. Leaves lanceolate- 

 ovate, very finely sawed. Flowers about 3 upon one 

 peduncle; the petals oblong, rather acute. Lobes of the 

 capsule obtuse. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 4.) A shrub or low 

 tree, a native of Europe, in hedges and scattered woods ; 

 plentiful in Britain ; and, though seldom found in a wild 

 state exceeding 10 ft. or 12 ft. in height, yet, in some 

 situations, attaining, when cultivated, the height of 30 ft. 

 and upwards. It produces its greenish white flowers in 

 May, and ripens its rose-coloured fruits in September. 



Varieties. 



"t E. c. 2 folds variegdtis Lodd. Cat. has variegated leaves, but never 



looks healthy. 

 1 E. e. 3 huifolius Lodd. Cat. has rather broader leaves than the species. 

 * E. e. 4 nanus Lodd. Cat. is a dwarf-growing plant. 

 ¥ E. e. 5 frurtu dlho Lodd. Cat. has white capsules. 



164 



3. and 5. of these varieties are, in our opinion, alone worth culti- 

 vating. 



I j i r I ion, Sec The roots are very numerous and whitish ; forming a dense 



of network, and not extending to a great distance from the stem. The 



umerotU and opposite; and the wood hard and fine-grained. 



The leaves and bark are acrid, poisonous, and fetid when bruised. The cap- 



are of a fine rose colour, except in the white-capsuled variety, and the 



illy invested with an aril of a fine orange colour. This last 



character is conspicuous in the white-capsuled variety, as the colour of the 



the aril are in more direct contrast than in the species. 



, V- This Species is common throughout the middle 



and i of Europe; it is found in abundance in Sweden, in the 



north G and in Britain ; and it is also a native of Greece 



Italv. If. I by the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and the 



truest ages, to have been used for various domestic 



. ore particularly for making netting-needles and spindles; and its 



nd Germany, even at the present day, are very numerous. In 



