﻿( 96 .) 



DA'PHNE* *. 



Linnean Class and Order. OcTA'NDRiAf, Monogy'nia. 



Natural Order. Thyme'lte,e, Juss. Gen. PI. p.76. — Sm.Gram. 

 of Bot. p. 87. — Lindl. Syn. p. 208 ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. p. 75. — 

 Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 421. — Loud. Hort. Brit, p.532. 



Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, monosepalous (of 1 sepal), 

 resembling a Corolla, tubular, withering ; tube cylindrical, longer 

 than the limb, closed, containing the stamens ; limb in 4 deep, 

 egg-shaped, spreading, coloured segments. Corolla none. Fila- 

 ments (see fig. 1 .) 8, short, in two rows, from about the middle of 

 the tube. Anthers roundish, 2-celled, upright, contained within 

 the tube. Germen (fig. 2.) superior, egg-shaped. Style (see figs. 



1 & 2.) very short, terminal. Stigma (see figs. 1 & 2.) capitate, 

 depressed, entire. Berry (fig. 3.) oval, of 1 cell. Seed solitary, 

 pendulous, oval, large, with a thin brittle skin. 



Distinguished from other genera, with apetalous flowers, ( flowers 

 destitute of petals), in the same class and order, by the coloured, 

 4-cleft, inferior calyx, and single seeded berry. 



Two species British. 



DA'PHNE MEZE'REUM. Common Mezereon. Spurge- 

 olive. Dwarf Bay. 



Spec. Char. Flowers lateral, sessile, about three together, ap- 

 pearing before the spear-shaped, deciduous leaves. 



Eng. Bot. 1. 1381. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 509. — Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 167. — 

 VVoodv. Med. Bot. v. i. p. 68. t. 23. — Sin. FI. Brit. v. i. p.420. ling. FI. v. ii. 

 p. 228. — With. (7th ed.) v. ii. p.489. — Lindl. Syn. p. 209. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 

 181.— Purt. Midi. FI. v. iii. p. 33.— Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 111.— Bab. FI. Bath, 

 p. 44. — Daphne Florida, Giay’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p.265. — Chamcelea Germa- 

 nica, site Mezereon, Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 1402. 



Localities. — In woods. Very rare. — Oxfordsh. In Wychwood Forest : Mr. 

 Issac Wheeler. — Berks; Appleton Common: Dr. Williams, Professor of 

 Bot. Oxford. Eaton Stibble, and Appleton Common: Mr. H. Barrett. — 

 Derbysh. Matlock, Chee Tor: Mr. Coke, in Hot. Guide.— Dorsetsh. In divers 

 parts of Cranbourue Chace : Di .Pulteney , ibid. — Durham ; Naturalized among 

 the Tunstall Hills, south of Sunderland: Air. Winch. — Gloucestersh. Stream 

 side in the dingle above Ebivorth fish-ponds, Painswick : Mr. O. Roberts. — 

 Hampsh. In Selborne Hanger, among the shrubs at the south-east end above 

 the cottages: Rev. G. White. Woods near Andover, plentifully: Miller. — 

 Somersetsh. In Brass Knocker Wood, near Bath : Dr. Davis, in FI. Bath. — 

 Stojfrordsh. In Needwood Forest: Mr. Pitt. — Wilts ; About Great Bedwyn: 

 W. Bartlett, Esq. — Worcestersh. About Eastham and Stanford: Rev. Enw. 

 Whitehead, Corpus Chiisti College. — Yorksh. In Oldfield Wood, near Ripon, 

 doubtful if wild : Mr. Brunton. On an island in the Swale, now perfectly 

 wild : L. E. O. in Loud. Mag. of Nat. Hist. v. iii. p. 169. 



A Shrub. — Flowers in February and March. 



Stem bushy, 4 or 5 feet high, with upright, alternate, smooth, 

 tough and pliant branches, which are leafy while young. Leaves 

 scattered, stalked, spear-shaped, smooth, about two inches long, 

 appearing after the flowers, and soon accompanied by flower-buds 



Fig. 1. Calyx, Stamens, and Pistil. — Fig. 2. Germen, Style, and Stigma. — 

 Fig. 3. Vertical section of the Berry. — All a little enlarged. 



* So named in allusion to the Nymph Daphne, who was changed into a 

 Laurel ; some of the plants of this genus having the habit of Laurels. Hooker. 



t See Adoxa moschatellina, folio 42, note f. 



