LXXXII. PRIMULACEiE. 



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, although very austere when green. The bark is tonic and astringent. Jn. 



Order 'LXXXI. STYRACACE^. 



T/f&s or shrubs with alternate, simple leaves destitute of stipules. 



Fls. or racemes solitary, axillary, liracteate. 



Cal. 5, rarely 4-lobed, imbricated in a;stivation. 



Cor. 5, rarely 4 or 6-lobcd, imbricated in sestivation. 



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



Ova. adlierent, 2— 5-celied, the partitions sometimes hardly reaching the centre. 



Fr. drupaceous, generally with but one fertile cell. iids. 5—1. 



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

 nents, only a few in colder latitudes. Storax and bcnzom, two fragrant gum resins, regarded as stimu- 

 lant and expectorant, are the products of two species of Styrax, \iz. of S. officijiale, 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, cam- 

 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. — N. American shrubs. 



1. H. TETRAPTERA. Four-winged Snawdrop TVee. 



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

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

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

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

 dulous, white, about 10" long, f 



2, H. DiPTERA. T^wo-winged Snowdrop T)-ee. 

 Lvs. oblong-ovate, obtu.se, acuminate at each 



end, serrulate, softly pubescent beneath ; fascicles 

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

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

 or obsolete. — Native in Car. and Ga. Leaves 

 somewhat larger than in the last, with rather 

 smaller flowers. Corolla white, f 



Order LXXXII. PRIMULACE^.— 



Primworts. 



Plants hcrhaceous, annual or perennial, sometimes suffruticose. 



Lvs. usually radical, otherwise mostly oppo.fite. Stipules 0. 



Fls. on scapes and in umbels or variously arranged in the axils of 4- 



the leaves. 

 Cal. 5 (rarely 4) cleft, inferior, regular, persistent. 

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

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



opposite to Ihem. 

 Ova. 1 -celled, with a free, central placenta. Style and Stigma 



simple. 

 Fr. — Capsule many seeded, the fleshy placenta attached only to 



the base of Uie cell. 



Ck^neni 59, 8i)ecies 215, common in the northem temperate 

 region.t, erowiiiir iji HwampN, grovi-H, by rividetn and often iimoiiL' 

 the snow of rhmd rapped mountains. Many are beautiful, and 

 highly prized in culture. Froperlics unimportant. 



FIG. 49.— I. Primula Mistasninicrt. 2. A flower laid open, show- 

 ing the 5 stamens inserted on the tube of the corolla. 4. Tlan of 

 the flower. 6. Ovary and calvx. 6. Vertical Rection of the ovary, 

 • howinjj the free central placenta. 



33 



