174 



PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



MTRicA^ Linn. — Siceet Gale. 



A genus of small trees or shrubs, mostly evergreen, and the 

 species are pretty widely distributed over the world. Flowers 

 monoecious or dioecious, with both sexes in short, scaly catkins. 

 Leaves usually fragrant, and the fruit a drupe-like nut. Of no 

 special interest to the arboriculturist, further than the tallest 

 species of the genus is a native of the United States. 



Myrka Calif orniea^ Cham. — Wax Myrtle. — ^Leaves evergreen, 

 leathery, usually pubescent beneath, oblanceolate, two to four 

 inches long, pointed. Fruit purple, thinly coated with grayish 

 wax, and only about one eighth of an inch in diameter. Native 

 of Northern California to Washington Territory. A tree thirty j 

 to forty feet high, with a stem sometimes two feet in diameter. 

 A dwarf species (M. Hartwegi, Watson), is found near Sacra- 

 mento, and in other parts of California, but it is a low shrub. 

 This genus is represented by several small shrubs in our East- 

 em States, among the best known and most common, are the 

 Bayberry (M. cerifera), and the Sweet Gale {M, Gale), the latter 

 being also a native of Europe. 



MYRSii^E, L. — Florida Myrtle. 



Evergreen trees or shrubs, with mostly entire leaves, and 

 regular monoecious, or dioecious white, or colored flowers. 

 Fruit resembling small plums, commonly with one reddish 

 seed or nut, concave at the base. The species are widely dis- 

 tributed throughout the globe in tropical, or sub-tropical 

 climates, we have one species. 



Myrsiac Rapanea, Roem. & Schult. — Florida Myrtle. — Leaves 

 two to three inches long, thick, oblong-ovate, entire, narrowed at 

 the base into a short petiole. Flowers small, white, and in 

 clusters. Fruit less than a quarter of an inch in diameter. A 

 small tree, sometimes twenty or more feet high in the Florida 

 Keys, and through the West Indies to Brazil. 



NUTTALLiA, Terr. & Gray. 



A genus closely related to the Plum and Cherry, contaiuing 

 only one species. Usually a shrub, with entire deciduous 

 leaves, with white flowers, in loose drooping racemes, which 

 appear with the branchlets from the same buds. 



Nuttallia ccrasiformis, Torr. & Gray.— Oso Berry. — Leaves 

 broad, oblanceolate, sharp pointed, two to four inches long. 



