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Daphne mezereum

(February Daphne)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Ou Ya Rui Xiang

Common Names in English:

February Daphne, Dwarf Laurel, Flax Olive, Garland Flower, Mezereon, Paradise Plant, Paradise-Plant, Spurge Daphne, Spurge Laurel, Spurge Olive, Tintorell

Common Names in Estonian:

Harilik Näsiniin

Common Names in French:

Bois Gentil, Bois Joli, Daphné Bois-Gentil, Daphné Joli-Bois, Daphné Mézéréon, Faux Garou, Lauréole Femelle, Lauréole Jolie

Common Names in German:

Echter Seidelbast, Kellerbalz, Seidelbast

Common Names in Italian:

Erba Cativa, Laureola Femmina, Laureola Gentile, Legno Gentile, Mezereon

Common Names in Spanish:

Hoja De San Pedro, Lauréola Hembra, Leño Gentil, Matacabras, Matapollo, Mecéreo, Mecerón, Mecereo, Mezereón, Mezereo, Olivareta, Torvisco

Common Names in Swedish:

Tibast

Common Names in Turkish:

Ghulupa, Mazaryon Agh

Description

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Family Thymelaeaceae

Shrubs or small trees , rarely herbs, evergreen or deciduous. Bark tough and fibrous . Leaves opposite or alternate, rarely some ternate , estipulate; blade simple , entire, pinnately veined, articulate at base . Plants mostly bisexual , sometimes dioecious. Inflorescences terminal or subterminal , less often axillary , sometimes on brachyblasts , sessile or pedunculate , basically racemose, sometimes capitate, spicate , umbelliform, or fascicled. Flowers usually actinomorphic , bisexual or unisexual (plants then mostly dioecious), bracteate (sometimes bracts forming an involucre) or ebracteate , sessile or pedicellate . Calyx tubular , campanulate , or infundibuliform , usually corollalike, 4- or 5(or 6) -merous, mostly caducous , sometimes circumscissile, or persistent ; lobes imbricate. Petals absent or represented by 4-12 scales , inserted at or near throat of calyx tube (Aquilaria) . Stamens 2 to many, usually as many as calyx lobes and opposite them or twice as many. Hypognous disk usually present at base of ovary, scalelike, annular or cup-shaped, sometimes absent. Ovary superior, 1- or 2-loculed, sessile or shortly stipitate ; ovules solitary in each locule, pendulous, anatropous ; style filiform , caducous, sometimes very short or obscure , terminal or eccentric ; stigma capitate, globose , subglobose, subclavate, or pyramidal , sometimes papilose. Fruit mostly indehiscent, dry or fleshy , sometimes a loculicidal capsule (Aquilaria) . Seeds with or without endosperm, embryo straight.

About 48 genera and ca. 650 species: widely distributed in both hemispheres; nine genera and 115 species (89 endemic) in China.

The phloem contains very strong fibers, which make the bark of many species very suitable for the manufacture of high-quality paper such as that used for bank notes . The stems are extremely supple and difficult to break and are used as a substitute for string. Most species are poisonous and some are important medicinally.[1]

Genus Daphne

Shrubs or subshrubs , evergreen or deciduous. Branches glabrous or pubescent . Leaves mostly alternate, sometimes opposite; petiole short. Inflorescence usually terminal , sometimes axillary , capitate or shortly racemose, sometimes paniculate , racemose, or spicate , with or without involucre; peduncle short or absent. Flowers bisexual or unisexual (plants sometimes dioecious), 4- or 5-merous. Calyx tube white, pink, or yellow, rarely mauve , campanulate , cylindric , or slightly funnel-shaped, exterior glabrous or pubescent; lobes 4 or 5, erect or spreading , alternately longer and shorter. Petaloid appendages absent. Stamens twice as many as calyx lobes, in two series; filaments short or absent; anthers oblong , included ; connectives indistinct. Disk absent or annular , cup-shaped, sometimes elongated on one side. Ovary usually sessile or slightly stipitate , ovoid , 1-loculed; style terminal, short; stigma capitate. Fruit a succulent berry or dry and leathery, sometimes enclosed by persistent calyx, sometimes naked, usually red or yellow. Seed testa crustaceous , endosperm scanty or absent; cotyledons fleshy .

About 95 species: Asia, Europe; 52 species (41 endemic) in China.

Species of Daphne have long been valued by gardeners for their extremely fragrant flowers.[2]

Physical Description

Habit: Subshrub , Shrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February, March, December. • Flower Color: pink

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 36-48" tall.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,500 meters (0 to 8,202 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : L. Publication : Sp. Pl. 1: 356 1753 [1 May 1753]

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Daphne

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 60 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

D. alpina (Alpine Daphne) · D. arbuscula (Daphne) · D. bholua (Lokta) · D. bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' (Lokta) · D. blagayana (Blagays Daphne) · D. caucasica (Caucasian Daphne) · D. championii (Champion´s Daphne) · D. cneorum (Garland Flower) · D. cneorum 'Album' (Garland Flower) · D. cneorum 'Lela Haines' (Garland Flower) · D. cneorum 'Ruby Glow' (Garland Flower) · D. collina (Daphne) · D. genkwa (Daphne) · D. giraldii (Giraldi Daphne) · D. gnidium (Spurge Flax) · D. jasminea (Daphne) · D. jezoensis (Daphne) · D. juliae (Daphne) · D. laureola (Spurge Laurel) · D. laureola var. cantabrica (Spurge Laurel) · D. mantensiana 'Manten' (Daphne) · D. mezereum (February Daphne) · D. mezereum var. rubra (Paradise Plant) · D. mezereum 'Bowles White' (February Daphne) · D. mezereum 'Rubra' (Fragrant Daphne) · D. odora (Fragrant Daphne) · D. odora 'Alba' (Fragrant Daphne) · D. odora 'Aureo-Marginata' (Fragrant Daphne) · D. odora 'Aureomarginata' (Winter Daphne) · D. odora 'Mae-Jima' (Winter Daphne) · D. oleoides (Spurge Olive) · D. papyracea (Nepali Paper Plant) · D. petraea (Daphne) · D. pontica (Twin-Flowered Daphne) · D. retusa (Daphne) · D. rosmarinifolia (Rosemary-Leaved Daphne) · D. striata (Fairy Garland Flower) · D. tangutica (Daphne) · D. × burkwoodii (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Albert Burkwood' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. × burkwoodii 'Briggs Moonlight' (Briggs Moonlight Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackie' (Carol Mackie Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'G. K. Argles' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Lavenerii' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Silveredge' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Somerset' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x burkwoodii 'Variegata' (Burkwood Daphne) · D. x eschmannii (Daphne) · D. x hendersonii (Daphne) · D. x hendersonii 'Ernst Hauser' (Daphne) · D. x houtteana (Daphne) · D. x napolitana (Daphne) · D. x thauma (Daphne) · D. x transatlantica 'Beulah Cross' (Daphne) · D. x transatlantica 'Jim's Pride' (Jim's Pride Daphne) · D. x transatlantica 'Summer Ice' (Daphne) · D. x whiteorum 'Kilmeston' (Daphne) · D. 'Lawrence Crocker' (Daphne) · D. 'Rossetii' (Daphne) · D. 'Wilhelm Schacht' (Evergreen Rock Daphne)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Yinzheng Wang, Michael G. Gilbert, Brian F. Mathew, Christopher Brickell & Lorin I. Nevling "Thymelaeaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 213. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Yinzheng Wang, Michael G. Gilbert, Brian F. Mathew & Christopher Brickell "Daphne". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 213, 215, 223, 230, 246. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 380.670 meters (1,248.917 feet), Standard Deviation = 349.760 based on 6,132 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012