Daphne L.
Prostrate to medium-sized, deciduous or evergreen shrubs with very tough fibrous bark. Lvs usually alternate, rarely opposite, entire, often clustered at branch ends; petiole short. Fls usually in small heads or clusters, sometimes subtended by an involucre, ⚥, usually fragrant. Calyx petaloid, 4-lobed; tube often swollen at base. Petals 0. Stamens 8, in 2 rows, included or slightly exserted, inserted on calyx tube. Style short or almost 0; stigma capitate. Ovary 1-locular. Fr. a drupe, usually fleshy, rarely coriaceous.
c. 50 spp., temperate Eurasia. Naturalised sp. 1.
A number of Daphne spp. are cultivated in N.Z., by far the commonest being the evergreen, winter-flowering D. odora Thunb. with very fragrant fls, purple outside, whitish within, which are rarely followed by orange frs. Less common and mainly in the South Id is D. mezereum L., mezereon, a small deciduous shrub with fragrant purplish fls produced in early spring and usually followed by conspicuous red frs. On the other hand, the common deciduous pink-flowered D. × burkwoodii Turrill does not form frs. Daphne spp., particularly D. mezereum, are known for their poisonous properties.
