EuoNYMOs. CELASTRACBiE. 257 



TiuHK II. EUONYMExE. DC. 



Celastracetc {iroper, Brovi^n. ; iJndl. 



Seeds usually arilled. Cotyledons sometimes fotiaceous. — Leaves 

 simple, entire or serrate, witli minute deciduous stipules. Flowers in 

 terminal racemes or axillary cytiies. 



2. CELASTRUS. Linn, (partly); Kunth, sijn, 4. p. 185. 



Flowers by abortion somewhat dicecious or polygamous. Sepals 5, united 

 below into a very short turbinate calyx-tube. Petals 5, ovate or oblong, ses- 

 sile. Stamens rising from the margin of the orbicular fleshy disk. Ovary 

 3-celled, sessile on the disk : styles short, united, with a papillose 3-lobcd stig- 

 ma. Capsule subglobose, 2-3-celled, the dissepiments sometimes incomplete 

 or evanescent, loculicidal. Seeds erect, 1-2 in each cell, enclosed in a pulpy 

 aril. Embryo included in the thin albumen, nearly the length of the seed : 

 cotyledons broad and foliaceous. — Climbing unarmed shrubs. Leaves alter- 

 nate, of a rather thin texture. Stipules minute. Racemes terminal, some- 

 what compound : pedicels articulated. Flowers small, pale yellowish-green, 



C. myrtifdlius, 7-///i?(. is doubtless a sppcies of Ilex : C.buMntis, H'/VW., founded 

 on a figure of Plukcnet, is a wholly doubtful plant, probably not American. 



1. C. srniide.7is (Linn.) : leaves oval or someAvhat obovate, abruptly acu- 

 minate, with glandular or mucronulate incurved serratures, glabrous ; racemes 

 nearly simple; petals obovate-oblong. — Willd. sp. 1. p. 1125 (excl. syn.); 

 Mkhx. ! Jl. 1. p. 154; Gfzrtn. Jr. t. 95; DC. prodr. 2. p. 6. 



Borders of woods & streams, Canada! to Virginia, and west to Mis- 

 souri ! June. — Capsule orange-color when mature ; the styles separating by 

 the dehiscence of the valves. Seeds reddish-brown, coated with a bright 

 orange, at length scarlet, aril. Bitter-sweet. Waxwork. 



3. EUONYMUS. Tourn. insi. t. 38S; Linn.; Lam. ill. t. 131. 



Sepals 4-5 (rarely 6), united at the base, forming a short flat calyx. Pe- 

 tals 4-5 (rarely 6). Stamens inserted on the upper surface of the broad and 

 flat disk: filaments short, the base persistent: anthers with a thick connecti- 

 vum at the back, opening transversely or longitudinally. Ovary immersed 

 in the disk, with as many 2-3-ovuled cells as petals: styles united, short and 

 thick : stigmas united into one, obtuse or lobed. Capsule 4-5-lobed, 4-5-cell- 

 ed, loculicidal. Seeds usually enclosed in a fleshy red or purple aril. Em- 

 bryo with broad foliaceous cotyledons : albumen fleshy and oily. — Shiubs 

 sometimes trailing or climbing by rootlets. Leaves opposite, serrate. Sti- 

 pules mostly none. Pedimcles axillary, 1-many-fiowered : inflorescence 

 cyraose. 



1. E. atropurpnreus (Jacq.) : branches smooth; leaves (rather large) 

 oval or elliptical-oblong, acuminate, mostly acute at the base, finely serrate, 

 on distinct petioles, puberulent beneath; peduncles compressed, several-flow- 

 ered ; parts of the flower usually in fours; petals rouudish-obovatc; capsules 



33 



