Thymelaea
(from Thymos, Thyme, and Elaia, the Olive; in allusion to the Thyme-like foliage and the small, Olive-like fruit). ORD. Thymelaeaceae. A genus comprising about a score species of hardy or half-hardy, perennial or rarely annual herbs, sub--shrubs, or small shrubs, mostly inhabiting the Eastern Mediterranean region, but extending as far as the Canary Islands and Persia, a few being also found in Central Asia and Europe. Flowers small, sessile in the axils, fascicled or solitary, hermaphrodite or by abortion polygamous; perianth urceolate or rarely (especially in the male flowers) with a slender, cylindrical tube, the lobes four, spreading; stamens eight, on very short filaments; bracts small. Leaves scattered, often small or narrow. The two best-known species are here described. Both thrive in a compost of equal parts loam and peat Propagation may be effected by cuttings. 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.
T. hirsuta (hairy). fl. white; fascicles axillary or terminal, few-flowered, equalling the leaves. July. l. coriaceous, ovate, nearly round, or oblong, obtuse, nerveless, two to three lines long, glabrous above, white-tomentose beneath. Stems 1ft. to 2ft. long, slender, fastigiate-branched. Mediterranean region, 1759. A decumbent, greenhouse or half-hardy shrub. SYN. Passerina hirsuta (B. M. 1949; S. F. G. 360).
T. Tartonraira (Tartonraira). fl. white, copious, two to five glomerate in the upper axils; bracteoles whitish. June. l. coriaceous, obovate or obovate-oblong, nerved, imbricated, five to ten lines long. Branches copious, divaricate, rigid. South Europe, &c., 1640. A small, hardy shrub, wholly silky-canescent, whitish or fulvescent. SYNS. Daphne Tartonraira, Passerina