&t)e Crea^urp of 23ntany. 



66, 



hemispheres. No Algce are more subject 

 to variation. [M. J. B.] 



LAURENTIA. A genus of Lobeliacece, 



consisting of low-growing annual plants, 

 with tufted leaves, axillary or racemose 

 inflorescence, and blue or rose-coloured 

 flowers. They are natives of extra-tropical 

 Australia, and of the (Jape of Good Hope. 

 The genus is mainly distinguished from its 

 allies by the ovate calyx tube, and the 

 straight tube of the corolla, whose limb 

 is divided into five nearly equal segments, 

 or is somewhat bilabiate. [M. T. M.] 



LAUREOLE. (Fr.) Daphne Laureola. 



LAURESTINE, or LAURUSTINUS. Vi- 

 burnum Tinus. 



LAURIER. (Fr.) Lauras. — ALEXAN- 

 DRIA Ruscus racemosus. — ALEXAX- 

 DRIN DES ALPES. Streptopus amplexi- 

 folius. — AMANDIER. Cerasus Lauro- 

 cerasus. — A SAUCE. Laurus nobilis. 



— AU LATT. Cerasus Laurocerasus. — 

 AUX CRIMES. Cerasus Laurocerasus. 



— AVOCAT. Persea gratissima. — BEN- 

 JOIN. Benzoin odoriferum. —CERISE. 

 Cerasus Laurocerasus. — D'APOLLON. 

 Laurus nobilis. — DE PORTUGAL. Cera- 

 sus lusitanica. — DE SAINT ANTOINE. 

 Epilobium spicatum. DU MISSISSIPI. Ce- 

 rasus caroliniana. — SASSAFRAS. Sas- 

 safras officinalis. — TIN. Viburnum Tinus. 



— TULIPIER. Magnolia grandiflora. 



LAURIER-ROSE. (Fr.) Nerium Olean- 

 der. — DES ALPES. Rhododendron ferru- 

 gineum. 



LAURINE. (Fr.) A kind of olive. 



LAURUS. Under the common name of 

 Laurel many very different plants are met 

 with in gardens, but Bay or Noble Laurel, 

 L. nobilis, is the only one which is properly 

 so called. The genus Laurus gives its name 

 to the order Lauracece, and is distinguished 

 by the leaves, which have a single midrib, 

 and by the twelve stamens all of which are 

 fertile, with two-celled anthers, and two 

 glands, one at each side. In the female 

 flower the succulent fruit is surrounded 

 by the persistent base of the calyx. The 

 Bay Laurel, L. nobilis, is a native of the 

 south of Europe, and is commonly culti- 

 vated in this country as an evergreen 

 shrub, as it usually proves hardy enough 

 to resist our winters. In its native coun- 

 tries it attains a height of thirty or forty or 

 even sixty feet, but never loses its shrub- 

 like character. Its leaves are evergreen, 

 lance-shaped, with an agreeable aromatic 

 slightly bitter taste ; its flowers are yellow- 

 ish and inconspicuous, and its fruits are 

 succulent and of the size of a small cherry. 

 From their agreeable flavour the leaves of 

 the Bay are made use of by cooks and con- | 

 fectioners, and without the hazard that i 

 attends upon the use of the leaves of the j 

 cherry-laurel, which are frequently sub- ! 

 stituted for those of the Bay. The dried j 

 figs that are imported into this country 

 are usually packed with these leaves. j 

 From the fruit is expressed a butter-like I 



substance known as oil of Bays, which has 

 been used as an external stimulant, and 

 still finds a use in veterinary medicine. 



The Laurel is one of the plants called 

 Daphne by the ancients, and is figured 

 under that name in the Rinuccini MS. of 

 Dioscorides, now in the possession of Sir 

 Thomas Phillips. The branches of this 

 plant were likewise used to form the 

 crowns placed on the heads of the heroes 

 of antiquity, and on the statues of the 

 gods : hence perhaps the name from laus, 

 praise, and also the specific name 'noble.' 

 See Benzoin, Cixnamomum, Camphora, 

 Persea, and Sassafras. One of the 

 Laurels is figured in Plate lid. [M. T. Ml 



LAVANDE MALE. (Fr.) Lavandula 

 Spica. 



LAVANDULA. A genus of Labiatce 

 known by its ovate ribbed calyx ; its two- 

 lipped corolla, the upper lip of which is 

 two-lobed and the lower three-lobed ; and 

 its four stamens which are bent down- 

 wards. The common Lavender, L. vera, 

 is a native of the south of Europe, but is 

 largely cultivated in this country for the 

 sake of its agreeable perfume, and for the 

 oil on which this property depends. It is 

 an undershrub two to three feet high, with 

 ascending striated branches ; linear hoary 

 leaves, which in the young state are roiled 

 under at the edges ; and greyish-blue flow- 

 ers which are borne in compact spikes. The 

 flowers and leaves of this plant are stated 

 to have been used by the ancients to per- 

 fume their baths, whence perhaps the 

 name, from lavare, to wash. They are still 

 used by housewives to perfume their stores 

 of linen, and prevent the access of moth. 

 The essential oil of Lavender is procured 

 by distillation from the flowers, and is 

 much prized for its agreeable odour ; when 

 dissolved in spirits of wine, and mixed 

 with other perfumes, it forms the much- 

 appreciated Lavender Water. The Red 

 Lavender drops of the druggists consist 

 merely of a spirituous solution of the oils 

 of Lavender and Rosemary, mixed with 

 certain aromatic and colouring materials. 

 They are used frequently as a stimulant 

 and cordial in cases of flatulence, hysteria, 

 or faintness. 



Another species, L. Spica, yields oil of 

 Spike, which is of a darker colour and less 

 agreeable perfume than true oil of Laven- 

 der. The oil procured from this plant, toge- 

 ther with that from L. Stoechas, are used by 

 painters on porcelain, and by artists in the 

 preparation of varnishes. The last-named 

 plant is employed as an expectorant and 

 antispasmodic by the Arabs. 



Besides these, other species natives of the 

 Canary Isles, Madeira, &c, are cultivated in 

 greenhouses ; some of them are remarkable 

 for the elegance of their leaves, which are 

 more or less deeply divided in a pinnate 

 manner. L. Stoechas is moreover remark- 

 able for the large size of some of the 

 uppermost bracts of the spike, which are 

 of a beautiful violet colour. [M. T. M.j 



LAVANESE. (Fr.) Galega officinalis. 



