Pyrllaria. CXIII. SANTALACEiE. 479 



drupe superior, 1 -seeded. — Lvs. deciduous, lobed. Fls. ami Ivs. co- 

 tempo ran/ and from the same bud. 



S. oPFiciNAi.K. (Laiirns Sassafras, Linn.) Sossa/ras. 



Lis. of two tbiins, ovate and ciitiro, or 3-lobe(l and cuneate at base; /Is. 

 in terminal and axillary, coryinhose raceuics, with linear bracts. — Not uncom- 

 mon in N. Enjif., very abundant in the I'orcsis and barrens of the other states. 

 It varies in heij^^ht from 10 — 40f. Leaves alternate, petioled, those of the young 

 shoots ovate-lanceolate, others with 3 large lobes. Flowers gi-eenish-yellow, 

 appearing in May and June, in clustered racemes at the end of the last year's 

 twigs, and after the leaves have expanded. Every part of the tree has a pleas- 

 ant fragrance, and a sweetish, aromatic taste, which is strongest in the bark of 

 the root. These qualities depend upon an essential oil which may be obtained 

 by distillation, and which has been highly valued in medicine. The young 

 shoots are a common ingredient in small beer, imparting to it a grateful flavor. 



Order CXIII. SANTALACE^.— Sandalworts. 



Trees, shrubs and herbs, with alternate, undivided leaves. 



Fls. small, in spikes, rarely in umbels or solitary. 



Cat. tube adherent to the ovary, limb 4— 5-cleft, valvate in aestivation. 



Sta. as many as the .sepals, inserted at their base and opposite to them. 



Ova. Icelied, 1— 4 ovuled. Stijle 1. Stiifma often lobed. 



Fr. hard, dry and drupaceous, i-seeded, crowned with the persistent calyx. 



Genera 13, species lio, natives of Europe, America, Australasia, &c. The fra^ant sandal-wood ig the 

 product of Santalum album, &c , of India. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



Herbs. Comandra. 1 

 Shrubs. Pyrutaria. 2 

 Trees. JSi/ssa. 3 



1. COMANDRA. Nutt. 



Gr. KCJfiri, hair, avSpsg, stamens ; stamens connected to the petals by a tuft of hairs. 



Calyx somewhat urceolate, tube adherent, limb 4 — 5-parted ; sta- 

 mens 4 — 5, opposite the sepals, inserted into the top of the tube ; 

 disk perigynous, 5-lobed, the lobes* alternating with the stamens. 

 Fruit drupaceous, 1 -seeded, crowned with the limb of the calyx. — 

 Ver^ smooth, suffruticose plants of N. America. Fed. axillary and ter- 

 minal. Fls. small, umbellate. 



C. UMBELLATA. Nutt, (Thesium umbellatum. Linn.) Dastard Toad-flax. 



Erect; lvs. oval-lanceolate; fls. subcor3-mbed, terminal. — % Plant about a 

 foot high, in rocky woods, U. S. and Brit. Am. Stem slender, striate, general- 

 ly branching at top. Leaves entire, alternate, acutish, 1 — U' long, and \ as 

 wide, tapering to a very short petiole. Flowers small, white, in little umbels 

 of about 3. Each umbel is furnished with a deciduous involucre of about 4 

 small leaflets, the whole constituting a kind of corymb. Each anther is at- 

 tached to its oppo.site sepal by several hair-like, yellow filaments. June. 



2. PYRULARIA. L.C.Rich. 

 Flowers 9 5 6". Calyx 5-cleft, subcampanulate : disk 5-toothed, 

 glandular, half adherent to the ovary ; sty. 1 ; stig. 2 or 3, sub- 

 lenticular ; drupe pyriform, 1 -seeded, enclosed in the adhering base of 

 the calyx. — Shrubs with the habit of Celastrus. Lvs. alternate, entire. 

 Rac. termiyial. 



P. OLEiFERA. L. C. Rich. (P. pubsra. Michx. Hamiltonia. Muhl.) Oihmt. 

 Margins of mountain streams, Penn. to Ga. Shrub 4 — Gf high, hirsute- 

 pube.sccnt. Root foetid. Leaves 2 — 3' by 1 — l.V, oblong-ovate, entire, acumi- 

 nate, petiolate, veins prominent beneath. Flowers small, in a terminal raceme, 

 greenish-yellow. Calyx tube short, nearly filled with the glandular disk in the 

 (^ flowers, the segments reflexed in the ^'. Stamens alternate with the lobes 

 of the disk, opposite to those of the calyx. Drupe globose-depres.sed. May, 

 41 



