88 
Dicotyledons with Incomplete Flowers . 
Natural Order 
LAURACE2E. Tab. 72. 
Diagnosis.— Trees or shrubs, usually aromatic, with entire, alternate or 
rarely opposite leaves. Flowers small. Perianth regular, gamophyllous. 
Stamens hypogynous or perigynous ; anthers opening by recurved valves. 
Ovary free, 1 -celled, with one pendulous ovule. 
Distribution. —A large Natural Order, chiefly confined to Tropical and Subtropical countries, 
though rare in Africa; extending into the cooler zones in Eastern Asia and North America. But 
one species, the Bay or Victors Laurel (.Lauries nobilis ), is indigenous in Europe, where it is confined 
to the Mediterranean countries. Three or four species form an important feature in the forests of the 
Canary Islands and Madeira. 
USES, &c.—The aromatic property characterising the Order is especially marked in Cinnamon (Ginnamomum 
zeylanicum) of Ceylon and one or two allied Indian species affording Cassia bark of commerce. Camphor is obtained 
by distillation from the wood of another species of the same genus {G. Camphor a) indigenous in China and Japan. 
The wood is broken up, heated with water in closed vessels, and the volatile camphor sublimed. The wood and 
bark of the North American Sassafras ( Sassafras officinale) are similarly aromatic and supply a sudorific medicine. 
The Avocado Pear (Persea gratissima ) of South America is cultivated for the sake of its fruit in the West Indies 
and Atlantic Islands. Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) is common in English shrubberies, and a few tropical or Canarian 
species are cultivated for their fine usually evergreen foliage. 
