Daphne
(from Daphne, the Greek name of the Baytree, Laurus nobilis, used by Theophrastus). ORD. Thymelaceae. Very ornamental evergreen or deciduous shrubs (rarely tall). Flowers odorous, honeyed; perianth tubular, with four spreading lobes and a naked throat; stamens eight, sub-sessile in two series. Fruit coriaceous or fleshy. Leaves usually alternate. There are about forty species, the geographical distribution of the genus being Europe, North Africa, and Temperate Asia. A popular genus of plants, extensively cultivated both in greenhouses and in the open; their fragrant flowers and dwarf-growing habit rendering them excellent subjects for pot culture. The less hardy sorts are good conservatory plants, succeeding admirably when trained on walls, inside, in a partially shaded position. The red and white forms of D. indica are grown most largely indoors.
Cultivation. The species cultivated for conservatory decoration are often grafted on stocks of one of the hardier kinds, as, being naturally of slow growth, good plants may be obtained much quicker this way than by cuttings. For propagating by the latter method, matured shoots, or side growths, should be selected in autumn, inserted thinly in well-drained pots of peaty soil, and covered with a bell glass. If kept in a cool house in winter, they will callus, and may, early in spring, be introduced to gentle heat, to encourage growth and the emission of roots. The young plants may then be potted singly, and grown on in a close, but not high, temperature, and afterwards hardened and kept quite cool during the following autumn and winter, in order to thoroughly ripen the wood, a material point towards success in flowering D. indica. A temperature of 55deg. will be sufficient to excite growth, and this must not be exceeded until the plants are required to blossom. Grafted specimens may be treated in a somewhat similar way, repotting annually after flowering is over, using loam and peat in equal proportions as a compost. D. indica seldom grows fast, consequently pots of 5in. or 6in. diameter will be sufficiently large for good-sized plants. Drainage must always be insured, and water applied very carefully, especially in winter.
The hardier species may be used outside, in sheltered positions, on rockwork, or in shrubbery borders, with good effect. D. Laureola and D. pontica are fine evergreen species, thriving well when planted beneath the shade of trees. The cultivation does not materially differ in the younger stages from the greenhouse kinds; but as these make large specimens in a much shorter time, a richer, though well-drained, soil should be given when planting out. D. alpina (alpine). fl. white, very fragrant, sessile, aggregate. May to July. l. lanceolate, a little obtuse, tomentose beneath, deciduous. h. 2ft. European Alps, 1759. A low, hardy, branchy evergreen shrub. (L. B. C. 66.) D. altaica (Altaic). fl. white, scentless, sessile, in terminal umbels of about five flowers. April. l. obovate-lanceolate, glabrous, of a somewhat glaucous and yellowish-green, especially when young. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Siberia, 1796. Hardy. (B. M. 1875.) D. Blagayana (Blagay's).* fl. white, tubular, fragrant, disposed in dense terminal heads. April. l. alternate, lanceolate, glabrous. h. 1ft. Mountains of Eastern Europe, 1872. Hardy evergreen. (G. C. n. s., xvii. 505.) D. Cneorum.* Garland Flower. fl. bright pink, sweet-scented, terminal, aggregate, sessile. April, and again in September. l. lanceolate, glabrous, mucronate. h. 1ft. Europe, 1752. A hardy evergreen trailing shrub. There are two or three forms of this species.
D. collina (hill). fl. pinkish, in terminal groups; calyx externally silkily villous. January to June. l. obovate, glabrous and glossy above, and hirsutely villous beneath. h. 2ft. to 3ft. South of Italy, 1752. Erect hardy evergreen. (B. M. 428.) D. c. neapolitana (Neapolitan). A very pretty plant, with fragrant flowers, which are produced during the winter. It differs from the type chiefly in the want of pubescence on the under surface of the leaves. (L. B. C. 719.) D. Fortunei (Fortune's). fl. lilac, lateral, appearing before the leaves. February. l. oblong, or ovate-oblong, silky. h. 3ft. China, 1844. A hardy deciduous species. (F. d. S. 208.) D. Genkwa (Genkwa). fl. lilac, fragrant, rather large, fascicled, appearing before the leaves. April. l. opposite, lanceolate. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Japan, 1866. Hardy evergreen. (R. G. 499.) D. Gnidium (Gnidium). fl. pink, fragrant, in terminal panicled racemes. June to August. l. linear-lanceolate, with a cuspidate tip. h. 2ft. South-west Europe, 1797. Hardy evergreen. (S. F. G. 356.) D. indica (Indian).* fl. red or white, terminal, sessile. June. l. acute, entire. h. 4ft. China, 1800. Greenhouse evergreen.
D. japonica (Japanese). fl. pinkish-purple, terminal, corymbose. February. l. oblong-lanceolate, wavy, margined with yellow. h. 2ft. Japan, 1840. Greenhouse evergreen. (P. M. B. 8, 175.) D. Laureola (Laurel).* Spurge or Wood Laurel. fl. yellowish-green, in axillary, simple, drooping clusters shorter than the leaves. January to March. l. obovate-lanceolate, thick, glossy, shining. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Europe (Britain). A low, bushy, evergreen shrub. The berry of this species is very poisonous. (Sy. En. B. 1247.) D. Mezereum (Mezereum).* Common Mezereon; Spurge Flax; Spurge Olive. fl. red, distributed over the branches mostly in threes, and in pairs and fours, expanding before the leaves appear. February, March, or April. l. lanceolate, membranous, 2in. to 3in. long, obtuse or acute, shortly petiolate. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Europe (England, but very rare, perhaps not indigenous). A slender, straggling, deciduous shrub. The bark of this species is very acrid, and is used medicinally, for which purpose it is largely imported from Germany. There are white, red, and autumnal-flowering varieties.
D. odora (sweet-scented).* fl. purple, fragrant; heads terminal, sessile, many-flowered. March. l. scattered, oblong-lanceolate, smooth. h. 3ft. China, 1771. Greenhouse evergreen. (B. M. 1587.) D. o. Mazeli (Mazel's).* fl. white, pink, sweet-scented, borne on short lateral branchlets all along the branches, and thus differing from all the other varieties of D. odora. It produces its flowers from November until spring, and succeeds best in a partially shaded position. (Gin., Nov. 1878.) D. oleoides (Olive-like). fl. white, terminal, sessile, a few together, and surrounded by leaves that in some measure involucrate them. April. l. obovate-lanceolate, terminated with a minute mucro, glabrous on both sides, glossy. h. 2ft. South-east Europe, 1818. A hardy evergreen shrub. (B. M. 1917.) D. pontica (Pontic).* fl. greenish-yellow, fragrant, bractless, glabrous, in many-flowered upright clusters, each of the long partial stalks of which bears two flowers. April and May. l. obovate-lanceolate, glabrous. h. 4ft. to 5ft. Eastern Europe, &c., 1759. A hardy, spreading, branchy, evergreen shrub. (B. M. 1282.) There is a form with variegated leaves, but it is rare. D. striata (streaked). fl. rosy-purple, Carnation-scented, terminal, aggregate. June and July. l. sub-spathulate-linear, sessile, h. 2ft. Europe, 1819. A hardy evergreen, forming dense, twiggy, spreading masses, 1ft. to 3ft. across.
D. Tarton-raira. See Thymelaea Tartonraira.