LXXXII. PRIMULACEJi:. 



383 



tree at the North, a tree of large dimensions at the Sovith. Leaves 3 — 5' long, 

 entire, glaucous beneath. Flowers obscure, pale greenish-yellow, the fertile 

 ones succeeded by a round, orange-red fruit as large as the garden plum, and 

 containing (3 — 8 stony seeds. They are rendei-ed sweet and palatable by the 

 trost, altV.^ugh very austere when green. The bark is tonic and astringent. Jn. 



Order LXXXI. STYRACACE^. 



Tiecs or shrubs with alternate, simple leaves destitute of stipules. 



Pte. or racemes solitiiry, fuxjllary, liracteate. 



Cal. 5, rarely 4-lobefl, imbricateil in iEstivatioti. 



Cor. 5, rarely 4 or 6-lobed, imbricated in lEstivation. 



Sta. definite or 00, unequal in length, usually cohering. Anth. innate, 2-celled. 



Ova. adlierent, 2— Scelled, the partitions sometimes hardly reacliiiig the centre. 



Fr. tlrupaceous, generally with but one fertile cell. Sds. 5—1. 



Genera 6, species 115, sparingly distributed through the tropical and subtropical regions of both conti- 

 nents, only a few in colder latitudes. Storax and benzoin, two fragrant gurn resins, regarded as stmiu- 

 lant and expectorant, are the products of two species of Styriix, viz. of S. officinale, a Syrian tree, and S, 

 benzoin, native of Malay and the adjacent Islands. 



HALESIA. Ellis. 



In honor of the learned and venerable Stephen Hales, D.D., F.R.S., 1730. 



Calyx obconic, briefly 4-lobed ; cor. inserted into the calyx, cam- 

 panulate, with a narrow base, 4-cleft or 4-parted ; sta. 8 — 12, connate 

 into a tube below ; sty. filiform, pubescent; fruit dry, 4-winged, wings 

 equal or alternately smaller ; seeds 1 — 3. — N. American shrubs. 



1. H. TETRAPTERA. Four-v-ivged Snowdro'p Tree. 



Lvs. elliptic-acuminate, serrulate; fascicles 3-flowered, lateral, leafle.ss, 

 from the wood of the preceding year; cal. subentire; sta. 12; fr. with 4 equal 

 wings. — Native of S. Car. to Flor., Miss E. Carpenter! Branches leafy at the 

 siunmit. Leaves thin, 2 — 5' by li — 2', obtuse or acute at base. Flowers pen- 

 dulous, white, about 10" long, f 



2, H. DiPTERA. Two-winged Stiowdrop Tree. 'sA)/\ 

 Lvs. oblong-ovate, obtuse, acuminate at each ^^^^ '^^m^r^ 



end, serrulate, softly pubescent beneath ; fascicles r^^w/o^^i^ 



2 — 3-flowered, lateral ; 7?e</z'ct'/.'; and c«i. pubescent; ~" 



sta. 8; fr. with the alternate wings half as large 



or obsolete. — Native in Car. and Ga. Leaves 



somewhat larger than in the last, with rather 



smaller flowers. Corolla white, -f 



Order LXXXII. PRIMULACE^.— 



Primavorts. 



Plants herbaceous, annual or perennial, sometimes suffruticose. 



Los. iisually radical, otherwise mostly opposite. Stipules 0. 



Fls. on scapes and in lunbels or variously arranged in the axils of .^ 



the leaves. 

 CaL 5 (rarely 4)-cleft, inferior, regular, persistent. 

 Cm: 5 (rarely "D-clett, regular. 

 Sta. inserted on the tube of the corolla, as many as its lobes and 



opposite to them. 

 Ova. 1-celled, with a free, central placenta. Style and Stig/na 



simple. 

 Fr. — Capsulajnany-seeded, the fleshy placenta attached only to 



the basFof Uie cell. 



Genera 29, species 215,' comm.on in the northern temperate 

 regions, growing iji swamps, groves, by rividefs and often amon 

 the snow of clouil-capped mouiitiiins. Many are beautiful, an 

 nighly prized in culture. Properties unimportant. 



nculti 



FIG. 49.— 1. Primula Mistassinica. 2. Aflower laid open, show- 

 ing the 5 stamens inserted on the tube of the corolla. 4. Plan of 

 the flower. 6. Ovary and calyx. 5. Vertical section of the ovary, 

 showing the free central placenta. 



33 



