53 



cive, not only with its conspicuous flowers and fruits, but also in 

 its magnificent autumn coloring. It is abundant in swamps and 

 bays and along streams.* 



Loblolly Bay (Gordonia Lasianthus L.). 



This is one of the most beautiful and unique trees of the South- 

 ern States. It is a member of the tea family to which belong also 

 the well-known cultivated shrub Camellia Japonica and our very 

 rare native shrub Stewartia (see page 90). The thick, oblong, 

 shining leaves are evergreen, and the large, white flowers make 

 the tree a very attractive object when they open in July. The 

 deeply furrowed reddish bark also gives the tree a peculiar dis- 

 tinction. It is not a rare species with us, but occurs only in 

 alluvial bays and on the edges of swamps. The finest example I 

 know of stands on the north edge of Burnt Bay about a quarter 

 mile from the novelty mill. 



Dog Wood (Cornus florid a L.). 



A low, speading tree with opposite elliptical leaves without 

 lobes and usually without teeth. The small greenish-yellow 

 flowers are borne in small heads and the large white petal like 

 bracts beneath each head are not parts of the flower but are 

 modified leaves. This is one of the most beautiful of American 

 trees and it should be more used for town and street planting. It 

 is very common in rich woods. 



Black Gum (Nyssa oiflora Walt.). 



A good-sized tree with rough brown bark and alternate oval 

 leaves without lobes or teeth. The fruit is a small, dark blue 

 "berry" that robins are very fond of. The black gum is a very 

 common tree in swamps, bays, and flat woods. 



Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.). 



A small tree or shrub with reddish-brown bark and alternate 

 evergreen elliptic-lanceolate leaves that are neither lobed or 

 toothed. The beautiful flowers against the rich green leaves in 



♦This tree, as well as the silver maple, water oak, and Darlington oak, 

 is badly attacked in Hartsville by the gloomy scale, one of the most destruct- 

 ive pests of Southern shade trees. It is an American species, closely related 

 to the introduced San Jose scale of fruit trees. For methods of combating 

 the gloomy scale see Journal of The Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society for 

 August, 1912. 



