142 Bulletin of the Umwversity of Texas 
or whorled leaves. Flowers regular, usually in clusters. Fruit 
a drupe. 
Leaves persistent, blades entire, leathery.......... 1. Persea. 
Leaves deciduous, some of htme lobed............ 2. Sassafras. 
PERSEA Gaertner. The Red Bays. 
Aromatic trees with alternate, entire, evergreen leaves. 
Flowers small in panicles. Fruit a subglobose drupe. 
Prat ovyalor pear-shaped, large 4: 22 bs-eekt oe eee 1. Persea. 
RTLit: DVO, “SMa 5 13. freee + hee Oe ene ee eee 2. Borbonia. 
1. Persea persea (L.) Cockrell. Alligator Pear. A me- 
dium sized ornamental tree with thin gray bark and smooth 
branches. Leaves oblong to oval, smooth, reticulated beneath, 
margins entire. Flowers small, green in leafless clusters. Fruit 
a rather large drupe. Native of Central America planted for 
ornament in our range. 
2. Persea borbonia (lL.) Sprengel. Red Bay. Sweet Bay: 
A medium sized forest tree with thick brown, fissured bark 
and smooth twigs. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-oblong, entire 
margins, pointed at base and apex, smooth and dark green 
above, paler and hairy beneath. Flowers in clusters in the 
axils of the leaves. Fruit globular, blue or black, lustrous. 
In moist soils Virginia to Florida, west to Texas and Arkan- 
sas. 
The wood is bright red and is used in the manufacture of 
small trays, mirror frames, canes, and cupboard shelves. 
SASSAFRAS Nees and Ebermeir. 
Sassafras sassafras (l.) Karsten. Sassafras. A medium 
sized tree with thick, rough, prominently ridged, brown bark, 
greenish brittle twigs and mucilaginous sap. Leaves entire or 
2-3 lobed, smooth, becoming red or yellow in autumn. Flow- 
ers yellow, imperfect, mostly dioecious. Fruit an oblong- 
globose drupe. The bark of the root yields an aromatic stim- 
ulant used in medicine. 
In dry soil, Maine to Ontario, Iowa, Nebraska, Florida and 
Texas. 
The wood is deep brown, somewhat resembling ash in its 
general characteristics. 
