ground, in consequence of which they are all easily transplanted when young,
and injurious to plants growing under them when full grown. The genera are
arranged in 3 sections.
Sect. I. Ole' iNìE.
Sect. Char. Corolla short, monopetalous, campanulate or urceolate, ^-cleft.
Stamens 2, with short filaments, and erect anthers. Fruit drupaceous.
Shrubs with simple leaves, more or less coriaceous, and in some species
evergreen.
PiGu'sTRUM Tourn. Corolla funnel-shaped. Stamens enclosed. Stigma
bifid. Berry globose, containing two chartaceous nuts.
Z‘‘u i l l y ' r e a Diosc. Corolla campanulate. Stamens a little exserted. Stigma
thickish. Berry globose,
CnioNANTHUs Lin. Calyx 4-pai’tecl. Segments of corolla linear. Stamens
enclosed. Stigma trifid. Drupe containing a striated 1-seeded nut.
Sect. II. S y r i ' n g e j e .
Sect. Char.
2, short.
Corolla funnel-shaped or campanulate, 4—5-parted. Stamens
Fruit capsular, 2-celled. Deciduous shrubs. Leaves simple.
S y r i 'n g a Lin. Calyx 4-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-parted. Stamens
enclosed. Stigma bifid. Capsule 2-celIed, 2-valved. Seeds compressed,
with membranous margins.
F o n t a n e 's j .4 Labili. Calyx 4-parted. Corolla of 2 petals. Stamens elongated,
and stigma bifid. Capsule papery, indehiscent. Cells l-sceded.
Sect. III. P r a x i n i e ' ì e .
Sect. Char. Flow'ers polygamous. Calyx 4-parted or wanting. Stamens 9,
short. Anthers dehiscing externally. Stigma nearly sessile, bifid. Fruit
2-celled, compressed, winged at the top, usually l-sceded. Trees deciduous,
with compound leaves.
J ’r a ' x in u s Tourn. Flowers polygamous. Petals wanting. Samara l-cellcd.
O 'r n u s Pers. Flowers hermaphrodite or polygamous. Petals 4 . Samara
2-celled.
Sect. 1. O l e 'in a : .
G e n u s I .
/jIGU 'STRUM Tourn. T h e P r iv e t . Lin, Syst. Diandria Monogynia.
Identification. Tourn. Inst., t. 307.; Lin. Gen., No. 9. ; Don’s Mill., 4. p. 44.
Synomjmes. Troene, Fr. ; Rainwcide, Gcr.
Dcrioation. Said to be from ligo, to t i e ; in reference to its flexible branches.
Gen. Char. Calyx short, tubular, 4-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped, with the
tube exceeding the calyx, and the limb 4-parted. Stamens 2, with short
filaments, inserted into the tube of the corolla. Style very short. Stigma
obtuse, bifid. Berry globose, containing 2 chartaceous* 1-seeded nuts.
Albumen hardish. Embryo inverted. (Doris MiH.)
Leaves simple, opposite, exstipulate, evergreen or deciduous ; entire, glabrous.
Flowers terminal, compound, in thyrsoid racemes.—Shrubs or low
trees ; natives of Europe or Asia.
Readily propagated by cuttings in common soil.
X L V I I I . o l e a ' c e t e ; l i g u ' s t r u m .
i i 1. L. v u l g a ' r e Trag. The common Privet.
Identification. Trag. Hist., 1005. ; Lin. Sp., 1. p. 10.; Don’s Mill., 4. p. 44.
Synonymes. L . germ&nicum Bauh. Hist. 47.5.; Prim, or P rim-print; Troene, Puine blanc, Fr . ;
gemeine Kainweide, Ger. ; Ligastro Olivella, Ital.
Derivation. This plant was anciently called prim, or prim-print, from its being used for verdant
sculptures, or topiary work, and for primly cut hedges. Puine blanc seems to imply a “ little
white shrub,” from the whiteness of the blossom of tbe p riv e t; which is alluded to by Virgil and
other pnets, but which soon vanishes, and changes to brown, when exposed to the direct influence
of the sun. The German name is combined of rain, green, and weide, a willow ; alluding to its
being supple like tbe willow, and nearly evergreen. Olivella seems to signify the little olive. The
common English name of Privet may have been given to it from its being frequently planted in
gardens to conceal privies.
Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 7G4.; Baxt. Brit. Fi. P)., vol. 2. t. 119. ; and our figs. 1217. and 1218.
Spec. Char., Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous. Racemes compound,
coarctate. The flowers are sweet-scented, white at first, but soon change
to a reddish brown. Berries dark purple, almost black. (Doris Mill.)
A sub-evergreen shrub. Britain, in hedges and woody wastes. Height Gft.
to 10ft. Flowers white; June and July. Berries
dark purple ; ripe in November, remaining on all the
winter.
12ly. V. sempeivireti.s.
1217. ft. vulgäre. 121»' i - vulgäre.
Varieties.
äfe l i . V. 2 te u c o c d r p um .—Berries white.
Sk l i . V. 3 x a n th o c d r p um .— Berries yellow.
31 L . V. 4 c h lo ro c d rp um .— Berries green.
i äfe L. t). 5 sempervircns. L. italicum Mill., ancl our
■fig. 1219. ;'th e Italian, or evergreen. Privet.—
‘This is a most desirable variety for shrubberies;
and it is so distinct, th a t it was considered by
Miller as a^pecies.
afe L. -y. 6 variegdtum. — Leaves variegated with
yellow.
3fe L. y. 7 angustifblium.—Leaves narrow.
The leaves, in exposed situations, and on poor soils, are deciduous ; but in
sheltered situations, and more especially when the plant is cultivated in gardens,
tliey remain on throughout the winter. From its property of growing under the
drip of trees, it forms a good sub-evergreen undergrowth, wliere the box, the
holly, or the common laurel, would be too expensive, or too tedious of growth.
The privet has been long used in the court-yards of dwelling-houses, for concealing
naked walls, and preventing the eye from seeing objects or places which
it is considered desirable to conceal from the view. I t thrives well in towns
where pit-coal is used ; and the best hedges surrounding the squares of London
are of this shrub. I t is admirably adapted for topiary work, and in Italian
gardens, in a British climate, it forms as good a substitute for the olive, as the
common laurel does for the orange. The privet grows best m rather a strong
loam, somewhat moist; and it attains the largest size in an open situation ;
but it will grow on any soil, and under the shade ancl drip of deciduous trees.
In British nurseries, it is almost always raised by cuttings, which not only produce
larger plants o fth e species in a shorter period, but continue the varieties
with greater certaintv. When plants are to be raised from seed, the berries
s s 3