33 
DAPHNE MEZEREUM. 
NAT. CLASS,—DICOTYLEDONES ; ORDER,—THYMELACEÆ. ART. CLASS,— 
OCTANDRIA J ORDER,—MONOGYNIA. 
This is a bushy shrub, which puts forth its early 
purple flowers before the leaves make their appearance. 
The leaves are lanceolate. The flowers hâve a single 
perianth, which is a monosepalous funnel-shaped calyx, 
four-cleft, and downy on the outside. There are eight 
stamens attached to the inside of the calyx tube, in 
two rows of four in each. The pistil has an oval ovary, 
containing a single ovule, the style very short, and a 
capitate stigma. The ovary becomes a bright red 
one-seeded berry. 
