Schisandra coccinea. 47 



This plant is the only species of a North American genus esta- 

 blished by Michaux, and named Schisandra by him from «%/«<«, a 

 fissure, and A» fle , a male, because the anthers are nearly separated by 

 fissures in the receptacle of the flower. He found it indigenous in 

 the Carolinas and Georgia; and further north than North Carolina 

 it has not been found. Its remarkable feature is the mode of pro- 

 ducing its fruit ; for a long raceme of berries could scarcely be 

 expected to follow the solitary female flower, supported by a filiform 

 nutant peduncle. This becomes a long, red receptacle ; and a pro- 

 gressive developementof a raceme of berries ensues, from the aggre- 

 gate germs of the female flower. So far as botanists have yet disco- 

 vered, Schisandra is peculiar to the southern section of the Union. 

 It has certainly never been seen in a wild state north of the Caroli- 

 nas. It is a hardy perennial, and withstands the severity of our win- 

 ter in this state without any particular care. It has been introduced 

 into the gardens of England by Lyon, since the year 1806, and flou- 

 rishes there in exposed borders, suffering only from very severe 

 winters. 



The figure was designed from specimens obtained last summer 

 at the gardens of Messrs. Landreth, where it flowered in perfection 

 the first time for years, though it has always been conspicuous for 

 its vigour. 



