663 



CIjc Cr£a£ur» of Matmw. 



[laur 



of yellow flowers, and forms an excellent 

 pasture. L. Aphaca, an annual with soli- 

 tary small yellow flowers, is curious from 

 the' leaves, which have no real leaflets, 

 but are reduced to a tendril between two 

 large leaf-like stipules ; and L. Kissolia, an 

 annual with solitary pale red flowers, has 

 neither leaflets nor stipules; but the leaf- 

 stalk is flattened so as to resemble a linear 

 grass-like leaf. The genus Orobus, distin- 

 guished only by the tendril being reduced 

 to a short point, is now united with 

 Lathyrus, and includes the British species ] 

 L. riiacrorhizus (Orobus tuberosus) and L. \ 

 (Orobus) niger. 



LATICIFEROUS VESSELS. A continu- 1 

 ous anastomosing tubular tissue in which 

 j latex is conveyed. It is probably a modi- 

 i fication of cellular tissue, formed in a 

 similar way to bothrenchyma. 



LATIPES. A genus of grasses belonging 

 ' to the tribe Panicece. L. senegalensis, the 

 only species, is now included under Lap- 

 pago. [D. 31.] 



I LATOURIA. A section of Leschenaultia 



consisting of a North Australian herb, I 



with alternate filiform leaves, and flowers i 



opposite the leaves, having a tubular calyx \ 



' and a partially two-lipped corolla. They 



" are distinguished by the capsule Avhich is 



I slightly valvate, and by the seeds which 



are cylindraceous. [R. H.] [ 



LATROBEA. The Puttenwa Brunonis \ 

 and P. genistoides, two small-flowered | 

 Swan River species, have been separated i 

 by Meisner under the abovenamefrom the j 

 rest of the genus, on account of their mi- j 

 nute membranous five-toothed calyx, and i 



i the total absence of stipules. 



1 LATTICE-LEAF-PLANT. Ouvirandra ] 

 fenestralis ; also 0. Berneriana. 



LAURACE.E. (Laurinece, Lauri, Laurels^ \ 

 | A natural order of dicotyledons belonging \ 

 to Lindley's daphnal alliance of perigynous 

 Exogens. Trees with exstipulate, usually 

 alternate, dotted leaves ; perianth four or 1 

 six-cleft in two rows ; stamens often eight i 

 to twelve, the three or four innermost I 

 being abortive staminodia, and the outer ! 

 fertile ; filaments sometimes bearing ; 

 glands ; anthers two to four-celled, open- i 

 ing by recurved A'alves ; ovary superior, ! 

 one-celled, with one or two pendulous 

 ovules. Fruit a berry or drupe; pedicle I 

 often thickened ; seed solitary, •exalbumi- ' 

 nous ; embryo with large cotyledons. They ! 

 are tropical aromatic and fragrant plants, 

 distributed over about fifty genera, and 

 numbering between four and five hundred 

 specie?. Cinnamomum zeylanicum yields 

 cinnamon bark. C. Cassia supplies cassia 

 bark. Camphora officinarvrn, a native of 

 China, Japan, and Cochin China, yields cam- i 

 phor. Per fen grabissima furnishes the fruit 

 called avocado pear or alligator pear. Nec- 

 tandra Bodi&i is the name of bebeeru bark. 

 Has -ia.fr as ofFcinaU is T lie sassafras tree of I 

 America. Laurus nobilis, a tree of the ! 

 south of Europe and the Levant, is the ', 

 victor's laurel or sweet-bay. [J. H. B.] I 



LAUREL. Laurus ; also Cerasus Lauro- 

 cerasus. — of Panama. Cordia Gera- 

 schanthus. — of New South Wales. Cryp- 

 tocarya glaucescens. — , ALEXANDRIAN. 

 Buscus racemosus. — , AMERICAN. Kal- 

 mia. — , BAY. Laurus nobilis. — , CHERRY. 

 Cerasus Laurocerasus. — , COPSE. Daphne 

 Laureola. —.GREAT. An American name 

 for Bhododendron maximum. — , GROUND. 

 Bpigcea. —, JAPAN. Aucuba japonica. — , 

 MOUNTAIN. Oreodaphne bullata. — , 

 PORTUGAL. Cerasus lusitanica. -.NA- 

 TIVE, of Tasmania. Anopterus glandulosa. 

 — , NEW ZEALAND. Corynocarpus Icevi- 

 gata. — , ROMAN. Laurus nobilis. — , 

 SEASIDE. Xyh,,,lnillo hit i folia. — , SHEEP. 

 Kalmia angustifolia. — , SPURGE. Daphne 

 Laureola. 



LAUREL-CHERRY. Cerasus Lauroce- 

 rasus. 



LAURELIA. A genus of Atherosper- 

 macece, one species of which is confined to 

 Chili, and the other to New Zealand. They 

 are tail trees, exhaling a powerful aromatic 

 odour when bruised or broken. The leaves 

 are ovate or oblong lanceolate serrated, 

 and of smooth leathery texture ; the flowers 

 are small and inconspicuous, borne in short 

 racemes, the two sexes being usually 

 upon different trees, their calyx cut into 

 from five to fifteen segments, arranged in 

 several series, those of the males contain- 

 ing from seven to fourteen stamens, and 

 those of the females numerous scales in 

 the place of stamens, and several hairy 

 ovaries. 



L. Novce Zelandiw, called Pukatea by the 

 natives, is one of the largest of the New 

 Zealand trees, attaining aheight of one hun- 

 dred and fifty feet, with a trunk from three 

 to seven feet in diameter, encircled at the 

 base by huge buttresses fifteen feet thick. 

 It affords a soft yellowish timber which is 

 much used by the colonists for boat-build- 

 ing. The aromatic seeds of the Chilian 

 species, L. sempervirens, are used as a spice 

 in Peru, and are often called Peruvian 

 Nutmegs. [A. S.] 



LAURENCIACE2E, LAURENCIA. A 

 natural order and genus of rose-spored 

 Algce belonging to the series with tufted 

 spore-threads. The capsules are external, 

 and contain a distinct nucleus with a basal 

 placenta, and the fruit is confined' to the 

 terminal joint of the spore-threads. The 

 frond is inarticulate, solid or tubular, and 

 septate, the cells on the surface minute, 

 and the tetraspores scattered irregularly 

 through the branchlets. The type of the 

 order is Laurencia, which has a solid car- 

 tilaginous round or compressed inarti- 

 culate compound pinnate or rarely forked 

 frond, studded with ovate capsules, open- 

 ing by a terminal pore. This genus con- 

 tains some of our more common Alga?, as 

 L. dbtusa and pinnatiftda, the latter of 

 which is sometimes eaten under the name 

 of Pepper Dulse, while L. obtusa forms the 

 greater part of what is now sold in the 

 shops as Corsican Moss. Both of these 

 are found equally in the north and. south 



