CELASTRACEAE. 605 



Family;. CELASTRACEAE Lindl. 

 Staff -tree Family. 



Trees or shrubs, often climbing. Leaves simple. Stipules, when 

 present, small and caducous. Flowers regular, generally perfect, small. 

 Pedicels commonly jointed. Calyx 4-5-lobed or -parted, persistent, the 

 lobes imbricated. Petals 4 or 5, spreading. Stamens inserted on the disk. 

 Disk flat or lobed. Ovary sessile, mostly 3-5-celled ; style short, thick ; 

 stigma entire or 3~5-lobed ; ovules 2 in each cavity, anatropous. Fruit 

 (in our species) a somewhat fleshy dehiscent 2-celled pod. Seeds arilled ; 

 embryo large ; cotyledons foliaceous. About 40 genera, and 350 species, 

 widely distributed. 



Leaves opposite. 



Large erect or decumbent shrubs ; fruit 3-5 -lobed ; aril red. i. Euonymus. 



Low spreading shrubs; fruit oblong ; aril whitish. 2. Pachystima. 



Leaves alternate ; woody vine. 3. Celastrus. 



i. EUONYMUS L. 



Shrubs, with petioled entire or serrate leaves, and perfect cymose axillary 

 greenish or purple flowers. Calyx 4-5 -cleft, the lobes spreading or recurved. 

 Petals 4 or 5, inserted beneath the 4-5-lobed disk. Stamens 4 or 5, inserted on 

 the disk. Ovary 3~5-celled; style short or none; stigma 3-5-lobed. Capsule 

 3-5-celled, 3-5-lobed, angular, rounded or winged, the cavities i-2-seeded, loculi- 

 cidally dehiscent. Seeds enclosed in the red aril. About 65 species, of the north 

 temperate zone. Besides the following, 2 others occur in Cal. 



Pods tuberculate; low shrubs; flowers greenish pink. 



Erect or ascending; leaves ovate-lanceolate, acuminate. i. E. Americanus. 



Decumbent, rooting at the nodes; leaves obovate, obtuse. 2. E. obovatus. 

 Pods smooth; high shrubs or small trees. 



Flowers purple; cymes 6-i5-flowered. 3. E. atropurpureiis. 



Flowers greenish yellow; cymes 3-7-flowered. 4. E. Europaeus. 



1. Euonymus Americanus L. STRAWBERRY BUSH. (I. F. f. 2365.) A 

 shrub, 6-24 dm. high, with 4-angled and ash-colored twigs, divaricately branch- 

 ing. Leaves thick, 4-8 cm. long, 1.25-2.5 cm. wide, nearly sessile, crenulate, 

 glabrous, or sparingly hairy on the veins beneath; peduncles 1.2-2.4 mm - l n R> 

 very slender, i-3-flowered; flowers 1-1.2 cm. broad; petals separated, the blade 

 nearly orbicular, erose or undulate, the claw short; pod slightly 3-5 -lobed, not 

 angular, depressed. In low woods, southern N. Y. to Fla., Neb. and Tex. June. 



2. Euonymus obovatus Nutt. RUNNING STRAWBERRY BUSH. (I. F. f. 

 2366.) A low shrub, seldom rising over a foot from the ground. Branches 4. 

 angled or slightly winged; leaves rather thin, mostly acute or cuneate at the base, 

 finely crenulate-serrulate, 2.5-5 cm - l n &> I<2 5-4 cm - wide, glabrous; petioles 2-4 

 mm. long ; peduncles i-4-flowered; flowers smaller than in the preceding, about 6 

 mm. broad; petals generally 5, nearly orbicular, crenulate or erose, with scarcely 

 any claw; pod commonly 3-celled, slightly lobed, depressed. In low woods, 

 southern Ont. to Penn., Ind. and Ky. April-May. 



3. Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq. BURNING BUSH. WAHOO. (I. F. f. 

 2367.) A shrub or small tree, 2-8 m. high. Twigs obtusely 4-angled; leaves 

 ovate-oblong or elliptic, 4-13 cm. long, 2.5-8 cm. wide, acuminate, puberulent. 

 especially beneath, crenulate-serrulate, rather thin; petioles 8-16 mm. long; ped- 

 uncles slender, 2.5-5 cm - l n g. bearing a trichotomous cyme; pedicels 6-12 mm. 

 long; flowers 1-1.2 cm. broad; petals commonly 4, obovate. undulate; pod deeply 

 3-4-lobed. 1.2-1.6 cm. broad. Ont. to Fla., Mont, and the Ind. Terr. June. 



4. Euonymus Europaeus L. SPINDLE-TREE. (I. F. f. 2368.) A glabrous 

 shrub, 1-3 m. high, resembling the preceding. Leaves oblong, to ovate-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, crenulate; peduncles mostly less than 2.5 cm. long, stouter; flowers 

 about i cm. broad; petals 4 (rarely 5). oblong or obovate; pod smooth, deeply 

 4-lobed. Escaped from cultivation, N. H., N. Y. and N. J. June. 



