DAPHNE LAUREOLA. SPURGE LAUREL.
D A PH N E Laureola; racemis axillaribus subquinquefloris, foliis lanceolatis glabris.
DA PH N E Laureola. Linn. Sp. P I. p. 5 10. Huds. Angl. p .167. L ig h t/. Scot. p. 205. W ith .B o t.
A r r . ed. 4. ml. 2. p. 371. Roffm. Germ. ed. 2. ml. 1. P . I. p. 282. Jacq. Austr. t. 183.
' Willd. Sp. PI. ml. .2. p. 418. Smith, FI. B rit. p. 421. Engl. Bot. t. 1 19. Decand. FI.
Fr. ed. 3. ml. 3. p. 357. Ft. Gall. Syn. p. 190. Pers.Syn. PI. ml. 1. p. 435. A it.
Hort. Kew. ed. 2. ml. 2. p. 410. Hook. FI. Scot. P . I . p . 1 19-
LAUREOLA. Raii Syn. p. 465.
THYMELiEA foliis perennantibus ellipticis, floribus ex alis nutantibus. Hall. Helv. n. 1025.
Class a n d Or d e r . DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
[N a t u r a l Or d e r . THYMÈLEÆ, Juss., Decand., Hook.]
G e n . Ch a r . Perianthium simplex, quadrifidum, corollinum, marcescens, stamina includens.
G e n . Ch a r . Perianth single, quadrifid, resembling a corolla, marcescent, including the stamens.
Ra d ix perennis, crassa, ramosa, in terrain longe dè-
scendens.
Ca u l is erectus, teres, simplex vel ramosus, bipedalis et
ultra, digiti minoris crassitie, tenax, cortice oli-
vaceo-fusco indutus, hie illic cicatricato.
Folia ad extremitatem ramorum alterna, digitalia, un-
ciam lata, sempervirentia, oblonga, basi attenuata
in petiolum brevissimum, horizontaliter patentia,
coriacëa, nitida, subtus pallidiora, margine om-
nino integerrima, nervis obscuris.
Flores in axillis foliorum racemosi, suaveolentes, racemis
nutantibus, quinque- ad octo- floris, brac-
teatis.
B racteæ floribus minores, oblongæ, concavæ, virides.
P e r ia n t h ium simplex inferum, subinfundibuliforme,
viridi-flavescens. Tubus cylindraceus. Limbus
quadrifidus, segmentis ovatis.
St am in a inclusa, octo, quatuor inferiora, quatuor su-
periora-. Filamenta brévia. Antheræ oblongæ,
■ fulvæ. Pollen fulvum, sphæricum.
PiSTlLLUM : Germen ellipticum, glabrum, viride. Stylus
brevis, albus. Stigma capitatum.
B accæ ovales, nigræ, monospermæ.
Root perennial, thick, branched, descending deep into
the ground.
St em erect, rounded, simple or branched, two feet high
and more, as thick as the little finger, tough, covered
with an olive-brown bark, here and there
marked by the scars whence the old leaves have
fallen.
Leaves alternate at the extremities o f the branches,
four to five inches long, an inch broad, evergreen,
oblong, attenuated at the base into a very short
footstalk, horizontally patent, coriaceous, shining,
paler beneath, with the margin quite entire, the
nerves indistinct.
Flowers in the axils o f the leaves racemose, sweet-
scented, the racemes drooping, five- to eight-
flowered, bracteated.
B racte/E less than the flowers, oblong, concave, green.
Pe r ia n t h single inferior, somewhat funnel-shaped,
greenish-yellow. Tube cylindrical. Limb quadrifid,
with the segments ovate.
Stamen s included, eight, four inferior, four superior:
Filaments short. Anthers dblong, fulvous. Pollen
fulvous, spherical.
P is t il : Germen elliptical, glabrous, green. Style short,
white. Stigma capitate.
Be r r ie s oval, black, one-seeded.
Fig. 1. A small cluster of flowers (nat. size). Fig. 2. Two flowers and a bractea. Fig. 3. Single bractea.
Fig. 4, Front view of an anther. Fig. 5. Back view of an anther. Fig. 6. Anther loaded with pollen.
Fig. 7. Grains of pollen. Fig. 8. Entire flower. Fig. 9• Flower cut open to show the stamens and pistil.
Fig. 10. Berries (nat. size):— all but fig. 10. and fig. 1. more or less magnified.
This evergreen species of Daphne adorns the woods and hedge-rows in many parts of England, especially where
the soil is inclined to be stiff and clayey. The flowers are produced in the early spring, in the month of April,
yielding a very powerful fragrance; more powerful, as is common with flowers of the same colour, towards
night. The habit of the plant is quite peculiar among the natives of this country; the leaves being produced upon
the top of a tall stem, after the manner of the Palms. This stem, as Sir James Smith tells, is successfully employed
for receiving grafts of the Daphne Cneorum, which, thus aided by the greater vigour and more abundant juices of
the stock, becomes a stronger and healthier plant.
The berries are produced during the summer months.
The plant is possessed of an acrimonious principle, which abounds most in the bark of the root, and has been
employed in rheumatic fevers and in cases of worms, as it is said, with success.