Samyda
(from Samydo, the old Greek name used by Theophrastus for the Birch; in allusion to the resemblance in habit). ORD. Samydaceoe. A small genus (two species) of stove, evergreen shrubs, natives of the West Indies. Flowers white, pink, or greenish, rather large, solitary or fascicled; calyx tube campanulate, coloured; lobes four to six, imbricated, unequal; petals absent; stamens eight to thirteen, the filaments connate in a tube. Leaves distichous, alternate, oblong, pellucid-dotted; stipules minute. The species are ornamental subjects; they thrive in a mixture of loam and peat. Propagated readily by cuttings, inserted in a pot of sand, under a hand glass, in slight heat.
S. glabrata (glabrous). fl. greenish-white, solitary or a few in the axil, sub-sessile or shortly stalked, campanulate, about 3/4in. long. July and August. l. oblong, entire or obsoletely serrulated, glabrous, 3in. to 5in. long; pellucid dots and lines distant. Branchlets pubescent. h. 5ft. to 12ft. 1800. SYN. S. spinulosa.
S. serrulata (serrulated). fl. white or red, 1/2in. or more long, solitary or fascicled, campanulate, pubescent; calyx lobes blunt. July. l. soft, oblong or elliptic, serrated, pointed or blunt, 2in. to 4in. long, pubescent or glabrous above, velvety beneath. h. 4ft. 1723. (B. M. 550, under name of S. rosea.) S. spinulosa (slightly spiny). A synonym of S. glabrata.