646 FLORA. 



none in our genera. Stamens borne on the calyx, often in two series ; 

 anthers erect, 2-celled, the sacs longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary i-celled, 

 i-ovuled (2-celled and 2-ovuled in some Asiatic and Australasian genera) ; 

 ovule pendulous ; stigma terminal, mostly capitate. Fruit a berry-like 

 drupe in our plants. Seed-coat mostly crustaceous ; embryo straight; 

 cotyledons fleshy ; endosperm little or none, or copious in some exotic 

 genera. About 37 genera and 425 species, widely distributed, most 

 abundant in Australia and South Africa. 



Calyx-lobes 4, large; stamens included; style very short. i. Daphne. 



Calyx-limb almost wanting ; stamens and style long, exserted. 2. Dirca. 



i. DAPHNE L. 



Shrubs, with alternate leaves, and small purple pink or white flowers in fasci- 

 cles, heads or racemes, borne in the following species at the leafless nodes of twigs 

 of the preceding season. Perianth tubular, its 4 lobes spreading. Stamens 8, in 

 2 series on the perianth -tube, included, or the upper 4 slightly exserted; filaments 

 very short. Disk none. Ovary sessile or nearly so, i -celled; stigma large, capi- 

 tate. Drupe ovoid, or oblong, the calyx deciduous or persistent. About 40 species, 

 natives of Europe and Asia. 



i. Daphne Mezereum L. SPURGE LAUREL. LADY LAUREL. MEZEREON, 

 (I. F. f. 2534.) A shrub 3-12 dm. high, the young twigs somewhat pubescent. 

 Leaves thin, deciduous, oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 7-13 cm. long, narrowed 

 into short petioles; flowers in sessile fascicles of 2-5, very fragrant; perianth-tube 

 appressed-pubescent, rose-purple or white, 12 mm. long or less, the ovate acute 

 lobes nearly as long; drupe red, oval-ovoid, 6-8 mm. long. Escaped from cultiva- 

 tion, Quebec to Mass, and N. Y. Native of Europe and Asia. April-May. 



2. DIRCA L. 



Shrubs, with tough fibrous bark, alternate thin short-petioled deciduous leaves, 

 and yellowish flowers in peduncled fascicles of 2-4 from scaly buds at the nodes of 

 twigs of the preceding season. Perianth campanulate or funnelform, its limb un- 

 dulately obscurely 4-toothed. Stamens 8, borne on the perianth, the alternate ones 

 longer; filaments very slender. Disk obsolete. Ovary nearly sessile; stigma 

 small, capitate. Drupe red, oval-oblong. [Named from a fountain in Thebes.] 

 Two known species, the following and D. occidentalis A. Gray, of Cal. 



i. Dirca palustris L. LEATHER-WOOD. MOOSE-WOOD. (I. F. f. 2535.) A 

 shrub, 6-18 dm. high, the twigs yellowish green, glabrous. Leaves oval, or obo- 

 vate, obtuse, glabrous, or very nearly so, and 5-8 cm. long when mature; bud- 

 scales 3 or 4, oval, or oblong, very pubescent with brown hairs, deciduous; 

 peduncle about 5 mm. long; flowers nearly sessile; perianth 4-6 mm. long; style 

 longer than the stamens; drupe about I cm. long. In woods and thickets, N. B. 

 to Minn., Va., Tenn. and Mo., and Fla. (according to Chapman). April-May. 



Family 2. ELAEAGNACEAE Lindl. 

 Oleaster Family. 



Shrubs or trees, mostly silvery-scaly, or stellate-pubescent, with entire 

 leaves, the flowers clustered in the axils or at the nodes of twigs of the pre- 

 ceding season, rarely solitary. Lower part of the perianth of perfect or 

 pistillate flowers enclosing the ovary and persistent, the upper part 4-lobed 

 or 4-cleft, deciduous (obscurely 2-lobed in the Old World Hippophoe} ; 

 perianth of staminate flowers 4-parted (2-parted in Hippophoe). Stamens 

 4 or 8, those of perfect flowers borne on the throat of the perianth ; fila- 

 ments mostly short ; anthers 2-celled, the sacs longitudinally dehiscent. 

 Disk annular, or lobed. Ovary sessile ; ovule i, anatropous ; style slender. 

 Fruit drupe-like, the perianth-base becoming thickened and enclosing 

 the achene or nut. Seed erect ; embryo straight ; endosperm little or 

 wanting. Three known genera and about 20 species, widely distributed. 



