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natives of Europe, Asia, and North America ; propagated by seeds, or cuttings
of the roots, in dry soil. The genera are three, which are thus
contradistinguished : —
E ’l æ a ' g n ü s Touim. Flowers polygamous. Calyx 4-lobed. Stamens 4.
i/iPPo'pHAE L . Flowers dioecious. Calyx of 2 petals. Stamens 4.
S i i e p h e ' r d /.4 Nutt. Flowers dioecious. Calj’x 4-cleft. Stamens 8 ,
G enus I.
F’LÆA'GNUS Tourn. T h e E l j e a ' g n u s , Ol e a s t e r , or Wild Ol iv e
T r e e . Lin. Syst. Tetrândria Monogynia.
Ideniification. Tourn. Cor., 51. ; N. Du Ham., 2. p. 87.
Synonymes. Chalef, Fr. ; Wilde Oelbaum, Ger. -, Eleagno, Hal. . .
Derivation. “ The elaiagnos of Theophrastus was a plant with hoary leaves, growing in
places in Arcadia, and was probably a species of Sàlix, although ce rta'"'y u- ^
Spvengel has stated it to be. It was named from its resemblance to the elata, or olive, from which
arshy
n i c e to c u e ewtiit,UI u iiv u ,11 u iu w iiic ii
ifdiffered in not bearing fruit. Dioscorides writes eiisagj-os, which means the wild olive; and
some botanists have adopted this reading, which is most likely the tru^one^_ The plants tojyhich
the name Llæàgnus ii:s now applied are also something like the olive. The French call the Llæàg-
nus, chalef ; a slight alteration according to Golius, of khaltf, the Arabic name of the willow ;
but more probably of kalaf, the Persian name of the Eloeagnus itself. {Lindley in Bot. Reg.,
t. 1156.) Oleaster is a Latin word, which is interpreted a wild olive tree ; and perhaps it is
derived from olea, an olive tree, and instar, likeness.
Gen. Char., Floivers some bisexual, some male only ; both kinds on
one plant. — Bisexual fioiver. Calyx resembling, internally, a corolla, tubular
below, bell-shaped above, with a slightly spreading lobed deciduous
limb. Lohes mostly 4 ; the tubular part includes the ovary and part of the
style, and bears at its mouth a conical crown, through which the style
passes. Style long. Stigma clavate, or coiled. Stamens arising from the
bottom of the beíl-shaped part, shorter than it, alternate with its lobes ;
the filaments adnate to it, except at their tip. Ovary oblong. Fruit an
achenium— Male Jlower. Calyx resembling, internally, a corolla, bellshaped,
with a limb of 4—6—8 lobes. Stamens of the number of the
lobes, otherwise as in the bisexual flower. (G. Don.)
Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous; bearing, as does the bark
of growing shoots, scales or stars of hairs. Flowers axillary, pediceled. Fruit,
in some, edible.— Shrubs or low trees, deciduous ; natives of Europe, Asia,
and North America; which grow freely in any soil tolerably dry, andaré
readily propagated by seeds, layers, or cuttings.
¥ ]. .E. h o r t e ' n s i s The Garden Flæagnus, or PTèZZ
Olive Tree.
_Bieb. Fl. T^**r. Cauc., p. 113,
SvSynonymes.«o4y?nís.''D.TugusÚii'ólia l'., JVilld." ' ^ Moench " ......... ...
Sp. Pl. 1. p. 688. ; E. songáñca Fisck.-, E .m é rm h Mill. Diet.
rénteus itft’íA. p. 638. ; E. orieutkhs Delisle-, f E. argentea Dend.
i?i.7'ÏCTuklem'wmow ("olivier de’ Bohême, Chalef à Feuilles étroites, Fr. ; schmal-
hliittriger Oleaster, Ger. ; Albero di Paradiso, Ital.
Engravings. N. Du Ham-, 1 .1. 89. ; Bot. Keg., t. 115G. ; the plate iu Arb. Brtt-, 1st edit., vol. vu. ;
and o u r * s . 1362. and 1363.
Spec. Char., 4c. Leaves lanceolate, hoary all over, as are the shoots of the
current year, with stars of hairs of a hoary colour. Branches brown and
smooth, moreor ¡ess spiny. Leaves 2 in. to 3 in. long ; upon the upper surface
whitish green, and upon the under one very hoary. Flowers 2 or 3 together,
axillary, upon short peduncles, fragrant : bisexual flowers 4-cleft, interior ol
a pale yellow ; male ones 5- or more cleft, interior of a golden yellow.
Both are furnished on the exterior with stars of hairs, like the under
surface of the leaves. A large deciduous shrub or low tree. Soiitb of
Europe, in Bohemia, France, Spain, the Levant, Tartary, and various parts
of Astatic Russia. Height 15 ft. to 20 ft. Introduced in 1633. Flowers
pale yellow, fragrant ; May. Fruit red brown colour, something like a
tlate ; ripe in October.
Varieties.
¥ E. h. I angustifòlia Bieb. E . angustifòlia L.
( f g . 1362.) — Leaves lanceolate,
shining. Fruit insipid. This is
the most common sort in British
E, h. 2 dactylifórmis-. — Leaves lanceolate,
shining. Fruit dateshaped,
eatable.
E. h. 3 orientàlis. E orientàlis L .
(Pall. Fl. Ross., i. t. 5. ; and our
f g . 1363.) — Branches not spiny.
Fruit date-shaped, eatable ; almost
as large as that of a jujube, and
used in the dessert in Persia, where
it is called zinzeyd. Tbe flowers
are more fragrant than those of
E . h. angustifòlia. Llorticultural Society’s Garden.
¥ E. h. 4 spinósa. E . spinósa L . — Branches spiny. Leaves lanceolate.
Fruit insipid. Nepal. Horticultural Society’s Garden.
The silvery whiteness of the foliage of this tree renders it a most conspicuous
object in plantations ; and hence, in any landscape where it is wished
to attract the eye to a particular point, it may be usefully employed.
âÉ 2. E . a r g e ' n t e a Ph. The silvery-/i?rtwi/Elæagnus, or Wild Olive Tree.
Identification. Pursh Sept., 1. p. 114. ; Nutt. Gen. Amer., 1. p. 97.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1830.
Synonyme. Missouri Silver Tree, IJ. S. q fN . Amer.
Engraving. Our / g . 1364. from a dried specimen, which Mr. Shepherd of the Liverpool Botanic
Garden received from Mr. Nuttall.
Spec. Char., S/c. Not spiny. Leaves waved, oval-oblong, rather
acute, glabrous on both surfaces, and covered with silvery
scales. Flowers aggregate, nodding. Sexes apparently dicecious.
Fruit roundish-ovate, about the size of a small cherry,
cartilaginous, covered with silvery scales, having 8 grooves;
the flesh dry, farinaceous, eatable; the nucule subcyliiidric, its
exterior part consisting of a tenacious woolly integument.
A bushy deciduous shrub or low tree. Hudson’s Bay; and
found on the argillaceous broken banks of the Missouri,
near Fort Mandan. Heiglit 8 ft. to 13ft. Introduced in
1813. Flowers yellow; July and August.
According to Pursh, ShepherdZrt argéntea Nutt, resembles
the -Elíeágnus argéntea Pursh so
'5t>4. argéntea.
much, without the fruit, that, in this state, onq
might easily be mistaken for the other.
âfe E. mlicifolïa ? D. Don ( f g . 1366.) is a
species apparently very distinct, and tolerably
hardy, of which we
have only seen one
plant about 3 ft. high,
in the arboretum at
Kew. It promises to
be a most valuable addition
to our nearly
hardy shrubs.
afe Dloeâgnus conférta
Llort., and oury%.1365.
from a living plant in
1565. E. conférta. the Horticultural Sol
i
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