DIANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Circjea. 
13 
L. vulga're. Leaves egg-spear-shaped, blunt, with a small point; pa¬ 
nicle with three divisions. 
Curt. 300— (E. Bot. 764. E.)—FI Dan. l\Al—Kniph. 5. — Mill. 162. 2— 
Math. 170— Blackiv. 140—Ger. 1208— J.B.i. 528.2— Fuchs. 480— Trag . 
1005 — Ger. Em. L394 — Swert. ii. 38. 4. 
Leaves frequently ternate, and enlarged at the base. Berries continuing 
through the winter. Scop. Blossoms white, (changing to rust-colour 
before they fall. E.), segments thick and fleshy. Stamens generally two, 
occasionally three or four, in each flower. Leaves very entire; growing- 
in opposite pairs; (dark green, glabrous, sometimes variegated with 
white. E.) Fruit-stalks a little woolly when magnified; every other 
part of the plant perfectly smooth. (Berries globose, nauseously bitter, 
black or yellowish white. E.) 
Privet. Prim. Print. (Scotch: Privy Saugh. Welsh: Yswydden cyffredin. 
E.) Hedges in gravelly soils. (In England generally evergreen; in 
Scotland only so partially, and in mild winters. In the humid atmos¬ 
phere of Devon, making shoots of four or five feet in one season. E.) 
Frequent in the southern and western counties. Rocks of Dunnerholme, 
and above Cartmel Wells, in the most exposed situation to the western 
sea. Mr. Atkinson. (Rocks at Knott’s Hole, near Liverpool, very much 
exposed to the sea air. Dr. Rostock. Hedges and copses in Huntingdon¬ 
shire and Hertfordshire, common, Mr. Woodward. Lackenham, near 
Norwich. Mr. Crowe. Hedges between Sunderland and Castle Eden. 
Winch Guide. (Sea-coast, Old Park, &c. Anglesey. Welsh Bot. Private 
road to the sea side Near Muttonhole. Grev. Edin. E.) S. June—July.* 
CIRCA^'A.t Bloss. two petals: cal . two-leaved, superior: 
(Caps, two-celled ; cells one-seeded. E.) 
C. lutetia'na. Stem upright: bunches several: leaves egg-spear¬ 
shaped, hairy, somewhat serrated. 
Curt. 202 — (E. Bot. 1056. E.)— Kniph. 10— II. Ox. v. 34. row 3. I — Lob. 
Ic. 266. 2 — Ger. 280—LoZ>. Obs. 137. 1— Ger. Em. 351. 1— Park. 351— FL 
Dan. 210. 
Stem a foot and a half high ; upright. Leaves somewhat serrated, opake. 
Bunches terminal and lateral. Cal. much thicker and of a coarser tex- 
* The berries are filled with a dry, spongy, violet pulp, from which a rose-coloured 
pigment may be prepared. Scop. With the addition of alum, the berries dye wool and 
silk of a good and durable green : for this purpose they must be gathered as soon as they 
are ripe. The leaves are bitter and slightly astringent. Oxen and goats eat it; (sheep 
devour it voraciously; the berries afford an acceptable winter food for birds, especially 
bullfinches. E.); horses refuse it. The insects observed to feed upon this plant are 
Sphinx Ligustri and Phaloena Syringaria: (Meloe vesicatorius , blister-beetle, has been 
sometimes found on it. It yields much oleaginous and acid liquor bjr distillation, sup¬ 
posed to possess a detersive quality. Parkinson states that the berries, ground into 
powder, were exported to Turkey as a yellow dye, used for staining the nails and bands, 
and also horses’ manes and tails on festivals. Privet will live, though scarcely flourish, 
under the drip of trees, and bears the smoky atmosphere of towns. It may be readily 
trained (by clipping) to cover lofty and unsightly walls, is easily propagated by cuttings, 
and is excellent for ornamental hedges. In its general character and elegant appearance 
it rivals the Box, and is perhaps better entitled to the designation of English Myrtle. E.) 
f (Named after Circe, the enchantress; and probably in the darker ages used in 
magical incantations. E.) 
