168 



FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 



also united in the center tliroughout the order. 



Family Elaeocarpaceae. Elaeocarpus Famil3\ Contains 7 genera 

 and about 120 si:)ecies, which formerly constituted one or more sections 

 of the Linden Familj^ (Tiliaceae), from which they may be distinguished 

 by the fringed or laciniate petals. The plants are shrubs or trees, 

 native of the tropics of both hemispheres. Elaeocarpus, named for the 

 resemblance which its fruit bears to an olive, contains about 60 species, 

 some of which are valuable timber trees. The pulp of the fruit is edible, 

 and the seeds are polished and sold as ornaments. Sloanea, another 

 large genus, has hard capsular fruits, splitting into four or five valves; 

 a fruiting branch of S. qiiadrivalvis is shown in Fig. 144. The wood of 

 S. Jamaicensis is known as ironwood, or breakaxe. 



Fig. 148. Flower and fruit of the cotton plant {Gossypt'um hetbaceuni). After Dodge. Report No 

 9, U. S. Dep't of Agric. 



Family Chlaenaceae: Thickleaf family. Trees or shrubs com- 

 prised in 7 genera and about 20 species, of somewhat pecuKar interest 

 from the fact that the whole family is confined to the island of Mada- 

 gascar. They are trees or shrubs, with leathery, spirally arranged 

 leaves, and flowers produced from a sort of cup or involucre. 



Family Gonystylaceae. Gonystylus family. Consists of the sin- 

 gle genus Gonystylus, with 7 species of Asiatic trees. 



Family Tiliaceae. Linden Family. Contains about 35 genera and 

 250 species, of wide distribution in warm or tropical regions, comj^ara- 

 tively few in the temperate zones. They are chiefly trees or shrubs, 

 having simple, usually alternate leaves, and clustered flowers. The 

 calj^x has 5 sepals; the petals are of the same number, or sometimes 



