OIjEACEJE. 



812 



A small order of ornamental shrubs, chiefly abounding in tropical India. Leaves simple 

 or compouiul, opposite or alternate. The essential oil which pervades the order, residing 

 chiefly in the flowers, is exquisitely fragrant. On this account, as well as for their beauty, 

 many of these plants are cultivated. 



J A S M I' N U M . 



Calyx tubular, 5 — lO-clefl; corolla hypocrateriform, tube 



long, limb flat, 5 — 10-cieft; berry double ; seeds 2, solitary, 



ariled. 



Gr. icc(ru,ri, perfume; from the fragrance of the flowers. Shrubs, erect or 

 Iwinino-. Lvs. evergreen. Fls. terminal. 



1. J. FRU'TICANS. — Erect; branches a.ng\i]a.r ; /eflucs alternate, trifoliate 

 and simple, evergreen ; leajlels obovate, obtuse, terminal ones subcuneate ; 

 sepals subulate. "Slein 3 feet iiigh. Flowers yellow. Ydlow Jessamine. 



2. J. OFFICINA'LE. — Climbing; Scares pinnate, opposite, deciduous; 

 leaflets acuminate. Stems 15 feet in length. ^ Flowers white. Both species 

 are favorite exotics of the flower garden. The deliciously fragrant essential 

 oil of jiismine of the shops is chiefly extracted from J. officinale. The flow- 

 ers of J. /nitirarts are scentless. Propagated by layers. iy/tite Jessamine. 



ORDER CVl. OLEACEtE. 



pis, Perfect (sometimes dicEcious). Sepals united at base, persistent. 



(jg^ Petals 4 united beluw, sometimes distinct but connected in pairs by the filaments, 



valvate in aestivation ; rarely 0. 

 £ia.— 2, alternate with the petals. >ln(/t. 2-celled, bursting longitudinally. 



Q^ci. Free ^-celled. Ovuks in pairs, pendulous. Style 1 or 0. Sligma entire or bifid. 



jfr.— Drupaceous, baccate orsainaraj, usually 1-seeded by abortion. 



g^j. Albumen dense, fleshy, abundant, twice as long as the straight embryo. 



Trees and shrubs. Leaves opposite, simple, sometimes pinnate. Natives of temperate 

 climates. The ash is very abundant in N. America. The Philerias and the Synngas are 



Properties. Otoe oi7 is expressed from the pericarp of the o^ife (Olea Europcea). The 



bark of this tree, and also of the ash, is bitter, astringent and febrifugal. Manna, a sweet, 



gentle pur^'utive, is the concrete discharge of several species of the Fraxinus, particularly 



of the European F. Ornus. The species of the ash are well known ibrtheir usetul timber. 



Conspectus of the genera. 



1 long. Anthers included. Shrubs. Syringa. 1 



(colored. Tube of the corolla } short. Anthers exserted. Shrubs. Li gustrum. 2 



Flowers \ green, polygamous. Trees. Leaves pinnate. . . • Fraxinus. 3 



1. SYRl'NGA. 

 Calyx small, teeth erect; corolla hypocrateriform, tube 

 several times longer than the calyx, limb cleft into deep, 

 obtuse, spreading segments; stamens short, included within 

 the tube. Capsule 2-celled, 2-valved. 



Gr. o-vQivl, a shepherd's pipe ; from the use once made of its branches. 

 Beautiful, Oriental, flowering shrubs, with simple, entire leaves. 



1. S. VULGA'RIS. — Leases cordate, very entire ; htjlnrescence a. thyrse. 

 Flowers of that peculiar pale purple which is called lilac, numerous, dense. 

 April. May. Cammon Lilac. 



2. P. Pe'RSICA. — icfJi'cs ovate-lanceolate, acute and acuminate, entire, 

 rarely pinnatifid ; floicers in a thyrsaid panicle, larger than the fonuer, while. 



