124 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Osmanthus fragrans, better known as 
Olea fragrans, the Sweet Olive, is a na¬ 
tive of China. Its strongly and delicious¬ 
ly fragrant flowers are produced here in 
the late fall or early winter months. This 
is a gem among shrubs, but though it 
thrives well in Florida, it never attains a 
large size. My plant is at least 16 years 
old but it is not taller than six or eight 
inches. I think it would prove a fine sub¬ 
ject for grafting on our native O. Amer¬ 
icana or on the True Olive. 
Ligastrum Japonicum —The Japanese 
Privet, is one of the finest avenue trees in 
New Orleans, being loaded in November 
with grape-like clusters of berries. The 
foliage is very dense and each leaf is ob¬ 
long and of a deep green color. It is 
not a success on high land but will un¬ 
doubtedly prove valuable on low rich 
moist soil. It has pendent branches, and 
is always very unique and conspicuous. 
Ehretia serrata is an interesting Chi¬ 
nese tree. The leaves are large and ser¬ 
rated, and in March large clusters of fra¬ 
grant milky white flowers appear. It 
thrives well on high and low land and is 
a rapid grower. My specimen comes 
from one of our most celebrated horticul¬ 
turists, Mr. Theod. L. Mead of Lake 
Charm. 
The Laurel family is richly represented 
in Japan and China, and almost all its 
members form very distinct and beautiful 
objects in our gardens. We all know 
the Camphor tree, Cinnamomum cam¬ 
phor a, which forms an ornament of many 
of our Florida gardens. Its dense 
growth and fine form speak for it every¬ 
where. Young specimens always look 
best. Old specimens are more picturesque 
than beautiful. 
Cinnamomum cassia, the Mock Cinna¬ 
mon Tree, is even more beautiful, a dense 
large leaved tree with bright glossy green 
foliage, which has a glaucous hue on 
the underside. It is a native of southern 
China and appears to be quite as hardy 
as the orange. There is a most beauti¬ 
ful group of these trees in Mr. E. N. 
Reasoner’s grounds at Oneco, Florida. It 
thrives well on high and low pine land. 
Cinnamomum Loureirii is a middle-sized 
tree from Hong Kong and Cochin China. 
Leaves large and glossy green, and the 
form of the dense growing mass of 
branches is rather globular. Cinnamomum 
pedunculatum from Japan, with thick 
deep green lustrous foliage, silvery white 
underneath, is also' well adapted to our 
gardens. Years ago I saw strikingly 
beautiful specimens of both of these two 
last species in the hotel grounds of the 
Sanford House at Sanford. The speci¬ 
mens were so dense and so extremely 
beautiful that they attracted my attention 
immediately. I have never been able to 
obtain plants of these two species. Ma- 
chilus Thunbergii and Litsea glauca are 
both handsome evergreen trees from Ja¬ 
pan, but they only thrive well in low rich 
soil. 
I cannot recommend the species of the 
genus Elaeagnus too highly. E. umbel- 
lata and E. longipes are two good fruit¬ 
bearing shrubs which grow finely in my 
garden and fruit abundantly. The first 
one ripens its almost cherry-like drupes, 
early in May, the latter in June and July. 
Both are interesting also from an orna- 
