20 The Shrubs of North Carolina 



The leaves are poisonous to cattle, and a snuff made from them 

 is a powerful sternutatory. An ointment made from the pow- 

 dered leaves has been successfully used for scald heads. The 

 wood, particularly of the roots, is exceedingly hard, fine-grained, 

 marked with red lines, and capable of a good polish. We have 

 hardly any wood better adapted for the handles of tools, small 

 screws, and similar articles. This and the Laurels can be raised 

 from seeds. 



2. Wicky. (K. angustifolia, Linn.) — This has an extensive 

 range over the United States. In this State it is common on the 

 small Pine-barren swamps of the Lower Districts, but is rare in 

 the others. It is 1 to 3 feet high ; the leaves are 1 to 2 inches long 

 and !/2 i ncn wide, pale green, paler underneath; the flowers 

 roseate or crimson, about 1/2 i ncn broad, being one-third the size 

 of the preceding, but of the same elegant form, and growing in 

 clusters along the branches. This is a beautiful undershrub and 

 is greatly improved by cultivation. It is a poisonous plant, 

 especially to sheep, and is in some places called Sheep Laurel. A 

 decoction of the leaves is a domestic remedy for cutaneous dis- 

 eases in man and beast. 



3. (K. cuneata, Michx.) — Similar to the Wicky, found in the 

 Lower District, but very rare. It may be distinguished from 

 that by the flowers being white at top and red at bottom, and by 

 the leaves being scattered along the branches, instead of grow- 

 ing in circles of three, as in No. 2. 



Sand Myrtle. (Leiophyllum buxifolium, Ell.) — A small ever- 

 green shrub, 6 to 12 inches high, looking somewhat like the 

 Garden Box, with small, dark green leaves, and small white 

 flowers clustered on the ends of the branches. It grows in sandy 

 woods of Brunswick County, and on the rocky summits of our 

 mountains, from the Grandfather to Whiteside. 



False Heath. (Menziesia globularis, Salisb.) — Common on 

 the higher mountains, 3 to 6 feet high, with thin, hairy, deciduous 

 leaves, and small, reddish, bell-shaped flowers, like those of a 

 Huckleberry, and a small, woody seed-vessel, like those of Andro- 

 meda, etc. 



1. White Alder. Sweet Pepper-Bush. (Clethra alnifolia, 

 Linn.) — Grows near damp places in the Lower and Middle Dis- 

 tricts, 2 to 4 feet high. The leaves are a little like those of the 

 common Alder, but are smaller and narrower. The flowers are 

 small, white, and very fragrant, terminating the branches in 

 racemes which are 2 to 3 inches long. A form of this (var: 

 tomentosa) has leaves with a white down on the underside. 



