BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
271 
those containing only forest trees, such as the Elm and the Oak. The Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides , 
Lin.) has also been omitted, as it is only beautiful in its berries ; and the Willows will not be given, from 
their great number, and the difficulty that exists in identifying them. 
CHAPTER LXYIII. 
THE SPURGE OLIVE TRIBE. (Thymitea:, Juss. 
Character of the Order. —Calyx inferior, tubular, coloured ; 
the limb four-cleft, seldom five-cleft, with an imbricated aestivation. 
Corolla wanting, but sometimes with scales in 'the orifice. Stamens 
definite, inserted in the tube or the orifice, often eight, sometimes four, 
less frequently two ; when equal to the segments of the calyx,, or 
fewer, opposite to them ; anthers two-celled, dehiscing lengthways in 
the middle. Ovarium simple, with one solitary pendulous ovulum ; 
stylo one ; stigma undivided. Fruit hard, dry, and nut-like, or dru¬ 
paceous. Albumen none, or thin and fleshy ; embryo straight, inverted ; 
cotyledons plano-convex; radicle short, superior; plumula inconspi¬ 
cuous. Stem shrubby, very seldom herbaceous, with tenacious bark. 
Leaves without stipulse, alternate or opposite, entire. Flowers capitate 
or spiked, terminal or axillary, occasionally solitary. (R. Br.) 
v r GENUS L 
THE SPURGE OLIVE. (Daphne, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Calyx four-lobed. Stamens eight. Style short, terminal. Berry with one cell, and one seed. (Dec.) 
Description, &c. — The only British plants belonging to this genus are the Mezereon and the Spurge 
Laurel. The word Daphne is said to be derived from two Greek words signifying to crackle and to burn, from 
the noise the leaves make in burning; others more poetically attribute the name to Daphne, who, they say, was 
turned into a Spurge Laurel when she fled from Apollo, instead of into a Sweet Bay-tree, as is the common 
legend. The genns is placed in the Linnman class Octandria, from its eight stamens ; and in the order 
Monogynia, from its single style. 
1.—THE MEZEREON, OR SPURGE OLIVE. (Daphne Mezereum Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1381 ; 2nd ed., t. 564 ; and our fig. 1, in PI. 52. 
Stecific Character. —Flowers naked on the stem, sessile, about three together. Leaves lanceolate, deciduous. (Smith.) 
Description, &c. —The Mezereon is a beautiful and well-known shrub, which is only occasionally found 
wild in Great Britain. The flowers appear in March, and in the wild plant they are always rose-coloured, 
though in gardens they vary to white. The bark and other parts of the plant are astringent, and as such, they 
are sometimes used in medicine. The plant is found in woods. 
THE SPURGE LAUREL. (D. laureola, Lin.) 
This plant is also found in woods, and it generally grows in a stiff clayey soil. The berries are said to be 
poisonous, except to birds, and the root is an acrid cathartic. The flowers are of a yellowish-green, and they 
expand in March. 
