SS3 



QTfyz Erea£ttri) af SSotaitg. 



[dael 



D ANGLE-BERRY. An American name 

 for Gaylussacia frondosa. 



DAXTHOXIA. A genus of grasses be- 

 longing to the tribe Avenece, distinguished 

 •by the glumes being two or many-flower- 

 ed ; the outer pale smooth and coriace- 

 ous below, many or sometimes nine-nerved, 

 emarginate at the apex, with an interme- 

 diate broad tooth, which sometimes ter- 

 minates in a geniculate twisted awn ; sta- 

 mens three ; styles two. Sixty species are 

 described, nearly all natives of South 

 Africa, and many of them useful there as 

 pasture grasses. [D. M.] 



DAPANIA. A genus considered by 

 Korthals to belong to Chrysobalanacece, 

 but referred to Oxalidacece by Planchon, 

 who considers it closely allied to Averrhoa. 

 The hypogynous flowers, and five-celled 

 fruit with pendulous exalbuminous seeds, 

 are sufficient to distinguish it from the 

 Chrysobalanacece. [J. T. S.] 



DAPHNACE.E. A natural order of mo- 

 nochlamydeous dicotyledonous plants, 

 synonymous with THYMELiEACE^: or Thy- 

 melace^e : which see. IJ. H. B.] 



DAPHXADS. A name used by Lindley 

 for the Thymelacece. 



DAPHNE. A well-known thymelaceous 

 genus of shrubs, the species of which are 

 very widely distributed, being found in 

 the temperate and tropical parts of Eu- 

 rope, Asia, America, and Australia. The 

 flowers are hermaphrodite ; the calyx tu- 

 bular, its limb divided into four segments ; 

 petals none; stamens eight, inserted in 

 two rows upon the inner surface of the 

 tube ; ovary one-celled, style short, stigma 

 button-shaped ; fruit a drupe. Many of 

 the species are remarkable for the beauty 

 and fragrance of their flowers ; while all 

 have a more or less stringy bark, and all 

 are more or less acrid. 



B. Me-ereum, the Mezereon, a common 

 shrub in cottage gardens in this country, 

 where it is also said to grow wild, is re- 

 markable for the appearance of its fragrant 

 pink flowers in early spring before the 

 leaves expand. It forms a dwarf bush 

 with erect branches, along the sides of 

 which the flowers are placed, while the 

 leaves occur in tufts at the extremity of 

 the twigs. The fruits are red and pulpy, 

 of the size of a pea, and poisonous to 

 human beings, though birds eat them with 

 avidity. There is a variety with white 

 flowers and yellowish fruits. The bark of 

 this species, and especially that of its 

 roots, has been used in medicine as a 

 sudorific and alterative in scrofulous, ve- 

 nerea!, and other diseases. It is extremely 

 acrid to the taste, and is now rarely em- 

 ployed. 



B. Laureola, the Spurge Laurel, occurs 

 in woods in this country. It is a smaller 

 plant than the preceding, and has bright 

 green oblong evergreen leaves, and green- 

 ish flowers which are scentless ; the fruits 

 are oval and of a bluish-black colour. This 

 species participates in the acrid properties 



of the mezereon, though it is not em- 

 ployed in medicine. It finds a place in 

 shrubberies, on account of its evergreen 

 character, and because it thrives well 

 beneath the shade of trees. 



The tough fibrous nature of the inner 

 bark of these plants is made available for 

 the manufacture of paper in various parts 

 of India and China. In Nepal the bark of 

 B. cannabina, B. Eclgivorthii, and other 

 species is thus employed. For this pur- 

 pose it is scraped and boiled in water, with 

 a small quantity of the ashes of the oak ; 

 after this it is washed and beaten to a 

 pulp on a stone, and then spread out on a 

 mould or frame made of bamboo mats. 

 This paper is of various qualities ; the 

 best is strong and tough, is not liable to 

 crack or break upon being folded, is not 

 eaten by insects, and does not suffer from 

 damp. Prom its durability it is used in 

 many parts of India for deeds and records. 



Several kinds are cultivated in this 

 country as hardy shrubs or in greenhouses. 

 Among them are B. pontica, which resem- 

 bles the common spurge laurel, but is of 

 larger growth, has more fragrant flowers, 

 and grows well under the shade of 

 trees ; B. alpina, a low growing shrub 

 with deciduous leaves and white fragrant 

 flowers, well adapted for rock-work; as 

 also is B. Cneorum, a charming plant with 

 procumbent stems, lance-shaped ever- 

 green leaves, and clusters of pink sweet- 

 scented flowers. The foregoing are hardy. 

 B. odora, B. indica, B. cMnensis and others 

 require the protection of a greenhouse. 

 The Spurge Laurel is the badge of the Gra- 

 hams. [M. T.M.] 



DAPHNIDITJM. Indian trees constitut- 

 ing a genus of Lauracece, having unisexual 

 flowers within an involucre of scaly bracts. 

 The perianth is six-cleft ; the male flower 

 has nine stamens in three rows, the three 

 innermost having glands at each side of 

 their filaments. Fruit berry-like, one- 

 seeded, partly enclosed within the persis- 

 tent base of the perianth. [M. T. M.] 



DAPHNIDOSTAPHYLIS. A small group 

 of shrubby plants, separated by some from 

 Arctostaphylos. 



DAPHNOPSIS. A genus of Thymelacece, 



consisting of dioecious Brazilian plants. 

 The male flowers have a four-cleft peri- 

 anth, with eight stamens, and a rudimen- 

 tary ovary. The perianth of thefemaleflow- 

 er is persistent at the base of the drupe, 

 which is of a fibrous texture. [M. T. MJ 



DARBYA. A North American tree or 

 shrub, described by A. Gray as constituting 

 a distinct genus of Santalacece, but re 

 duced by A. De Candolle to a section of 

 Comandra, 



DAREA. A section of Asplenium, some- 

 times called Ccenopteris, and characterised 

 by the prevalence of unisorlferous seg- 

 ments to the fronds. [T. M.] 



DARLINGTONIA. A remarkable genus 

 of Sarraceniacece found in California. The 

 only species, B. californica, known as the 



