LXXXII. PRIMULACE^. 



383 



tree at the North, a tree of large dimensions at the South. 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 6 — 8 stony seeds. They are rendered sweet and palatable by the 

 frost, althoitgh very austere when green. The bark is tonic and astringent'. Jn. 



Order LXXXI. STYRACACE^. 



Tiec.'s or shrubs with alternate, simple leaves destitute of stipules. 



Fls. or race/ues .solitary, axillaiy, bracteate. 



Cat. 5, rarely 4-lobed, imbricated in festivation. 



Cor. 5, riuely 4 or 6-lobed, imbricated in aestivation. 



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



Ova. adJierent, 2 — 5-celled, the partitions sometimes hardly reaching the centre. 



Fr. drupaceous, generally with but cue fertile cell. o'ds. 5—1. 



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

 nents, only a tew in colder latitudes. Slorax and benzoin, two fragrant gum resins, regarded as stimu- 

 lant and expectorant, are the products of two species of Styrax, \iz. 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, eam- 

 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. — JY. American shrubs. 



1. H. TETRAPTiiRA. FouT-ioinged Snowdrop Tree. 



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

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

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

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

 dulous, white, about 10" long, f 



2, H. DiPTERA. Two-ibi?iged Snctodrop Ti-ee. 

 Lis. oblong-ovate, obtuse", acuminate at each 



end, serrulate, softly pubescent beneath ; fascicles 

 2 — 3-flowered, lateral ; pedicels and cal. pubescent ; 

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

 or ob.solete.'^Native in Car. and Ga. Leaves 

 somewhat larger than in the last, with rather 

 smaller flowers. Corolla white, f 



a 



Order LXXXII. PRIMULACE^.— 



Primworts. 



Plants herhaceous. annual or perennial, sometimes suffruticose. 



Lvs. usually radical, otherwise mostly opposite. Stipules 0. 



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



the leaves. -*■ 



Cal. 5 (rarely 4)clcft, inferior, regidar, persistent. 

 Cor. 5 (rarely 4)-cleft, regular. 

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



opposite to them. 

 Ova. l-celled, with a free, central placenta. Style and Stigma 



.simple. 

 Fc— Capsule many-seeded, the fleshy placenta attached only to 



the base of the cell. 



Genera 29, species 215, common in the northern temperate 

 regions, growing in swamps, groves, by rivulets and often among 

 the snow; of cloud-capped mountains. Many are beautiful, and 

 Jiighly prized in cultui-e. Properties unimportant. 



FIG. 49.— 1. Primula Mistaseinica. 2. A flower laid open, show- /^ 

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

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

 showing the free central placenta. 



33 



