382 LXXX. EBENaCE^. Diospyros. 



8f hi?h. Leaves narrowed at base into a short petiole, uncinately serrate, with 

 proaiinent, pubescent veins beneath. Flowers white, dioecious,' small, in im- 

 perlect umbels or heads, sometimes monoecious. Berries scarlet, in little 

 bunches (apparently verticillate), roundish, G-celled and 6-seeded, permanent. Jl. 



2. P. AMBiGuus. Michx. Dubions Winlcr Berry. 



Lis. deciduous, oval, entire, acuminate at both ends; parts of the fis. in 4s, 

 the sterile ones crowded, the fertile solitary. — A shrub or small tree, 8 — 151" 

 high, in wet grounds. Mid. States. Bark whitish, smooth. Leav^es elliptic-oval, 

 mucronaie-pointed, petiolate, subpubescent beneath, 1 — 2' long and hall' as wide. 

 Flowers jwlygamous, 4 — 5-cleft, the fertile ones on long peduncles. June. 



3. P. L^viGATUs. Pursh. 



Lvs. deciduous, lanceolate, appressed-serrulate, glabrous on both sides, 

 shining above, minutely pubescent on the veins beneath ; fis. hexamerous, 9 

 axillary, subsessile,J^ scattered, pedicellate. — In swamps and marshes. Northern 

 and Western States ! S. to N. J. Shrub ^^—^i high, with grayish and warty 

 branches. Leaves 2 — 3' by 8 — 12", acute at each end ; petioles 6 — 10" long. 

 Flowers mostly solitary, the sterile on pedicels near 1' long, the fertile pedicels 

 scarcely i as long. Berries large, red. June, 



4. P. LANCEOLATUS. Pursh. 



Lvs. lanceolate, acute at each end, finely and remotely serrulate, glabrous 

 both sides; ^ fimoers aggregated, triandrous, 9 generally in pairs, peduncu- 

 late, 6 — numerous ; berries small, scarlet. — Barrens and marshes. Western {Rid- 

 dcll) and Southern States! Stirub 6 — Hihigh. — I am wholly unacquainted with 

 this species as a western plant, but have specimens collected in N. J. 1 by Dr. 

 Bobbins. The leaves are paler beneath, 2 — 3' (including the petiole 3 — 6") by 

 I — 1|', veins beneath pubescent, ferruginous. Pedicels of the barren flowers 

 are i' long, of the fertile \' long. June. 



5. P. GLABER. Ink Bern/. Evergreen Prinos. 



Lvs. evergreen, coriaceous, cuneate-lanceolate, glabrous, shining, serrate 

 at the end. — A beautiful shrub 3— 4f high, found in swamps, Mass. ! R. I. ! to 

 N. Y. and Car, Leaves very smooth, leathery, shining, 1 — 1-^' by 5 — 7", broad- 

 est above the middle. Pedicels subsolitary, 1 — 3-flowered. Flowers white, 

 mostly 6-parted. Berries roundish, black and shining. June, July. 



Order LXXX. EBENACE^.— Ebonads. 



Tre^s or shrubs without milky juice and with a heavy wood. 



Lvs. alternate, exstipulate, coriaceou.^, entire, bijloresccnce axillary. 



Fis. by abortion dioecious, seldom perfect. Cat. free, 3— S-cleft, divisions nearly equal, persistent. 



Cor. regular, 3— 6-cleft, often pubescent, imbricate in a;.stivation. 



Sita. twice or four times as many as the lobes of ttie corolla. 



Ova. with 3 or more cells. Htyle with as many divisions. 



Fr. a fleshy, oval or globose berry. 



Genera 9, species 160, mostly natives of the Indies and the tropics, one only being found as far north as 

 New York. 



Properties.— T>\ospyrn& is remarkable for the hardness and dark color of the wood. Ebony is the wood 

 of D Kbenus, Ebenaster, and other species, natives of Africa. The fruit of the species below is eatable 

 when fully ripe, although extremely bitter and astringent before maturity. The bark is eminently febri- 

 fugal and astringent. 



DIOSPYROS. 



Gr. Ajoj TTiipof, the fruit of Jove ; the fruit, although excellent, hardly merits the name. 



Fls. ^"9. Cal. 4 — Globed; cor. tubular or campanulate, 4 — 6- 

 cleft, convolute in oestivatlon. cT sta. 8 — 50. mostly 16 ; fil. shorter 

 than the anthers ; ova. abortive ; sty. 0. 9 sta. mostly 8, without 

 anthers; sty. 2 — 4 -cleft ; berry ovoid or globose, 4 — 12, mostly 8- 

 celled, cells 1 -seeded. — A large ge.mis of shrubs or trees, mostly tropical. 



D. ViRGiNiANA. Persimvion Tree. 



Lvs. ellii)tic, abruptly acuminate, entire, smooth, petiole, veins and mar- 

 gin puberulent; rac. axillary, 3— l-flowered, pedicels shorter than the flowers; 

 cat. 4-parted ; sta. 8.— In woods, lat. 42° to La., frequent. A shrub or small 



