206 
CLASS ENNEANDRIA. 
4 pistils, 4 petals, a 4 leaved calyx, a 4 sided and 4 celled pericarp, 
which contains eight seeds, and 4 large spreading leaves at a 
little distance below the flower. The color of the whole is 
green. 
CLASS IX ENNEANDRIA. 
Monogynia. 
This is also a very small class. In the First Order we find 
the genus laurus, which includes the cinnamon, bay, sassa- 
fras, camphor, spice bush, &c. The bay, (laurus nobilis,) is a 
native of Italy ; the Romans considered it a favorite of the 
Muses. The emperor Tiberius wore it not only as a triumphal 
crown, but as a protector against thunder ; as it was thought 
that Jupiter had a particular regard for the plant. The laurel 
as well as the olive was considered as an emblem of peace, it 
was sometimes called laurus j>acifera, the peace-making laurel. 
If its branches were carried among contending armies it was a 
signal for the cessation of arms. Poets crowned with laurel 
were called laureates. Camphor is the produce of the laurus 
camphora, a large tree which grows in Japan ; it is said that a 
species of this plant has been discovered in Georgia. “ The 
laurus cinnamomum is a tree which grows to the height of 
twenty feet ; it sends out numerous branches which are crown- 
ed with a smooth bark. The leaves are of a bright green, stand- 
ing in opposite pairs. The petals are six, of a greenish white 
color. The fruit is a pulpy pericarp enclosing a nut. This 
tree is a native of Ceylon, where it grows very common in the 
woods and hedges. The cinnamon imported is the inner bark 
{liber-) of the tree ; it is remarkable that the leaves, fruit, and 
root all yield oil of very different qualities. That produced from 
the leaves is called the oil of doves ; that obtained from the 
fruit is of a thick consistence, very fragrant, and is made into 
candles for the use of the king ; the bark of the roots affords 
an aromatic oil called the oil of camphor. “The Sassafras 
tree (laurus sassafras) is a native American plant ; when first 
introduced into Europe, it sold for a great price, the oil being 
highly valued for medicinal uses. It grows on the borders of 
streams and in woods ; it is often no larger than a shrub ; its 
flowers are yellow, its fruit blue berries. The laurus benzoin 
has scarlet berries, and is an aromatic plant.”* 
The Second Order contains no remarkable plants. 
* Woodville. 
Class Enneandria — Different species of the Genus Laurus, as the bay, 
camphor, cinnamon, sassafras, &c. 
