A modern reference to temperate woody plants, including updated content from this site and much new material, can be found at Trees and Shrubs Online.
Thymelaeaceae
Ovidia is a genus of some four species closely akin to Daphne, both having four-parted flowers with eight stamens and very supple young shoots. Daphne differs from Ovidia in its cylindrical perianth and in its style being very short or even absent. Neither of the species described here has any value as a garden plant.
In naming the genus after the poet Ovid, Meissner had in mind the famous passage in which he describes the metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel.
Some names used by Bean have now been superseded and are no longer familiar. To ensure that all plants can be easily found, under any name, we have cross-referenced to The Plant List, a collaboration between RBG Kew, Missouri Botanical Gardens and other organisations, which aims to provide a currently accepted name for any plant. Not all taxonomists will agree with all Plant List nomenclature, but it provides a baseline to compare names. For each species above, clicking on the Modern Name will link to the entry for that name on The Plant List website.
