1756 



A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



shrub (Fig. 1635) which grows to about 15 ft. and is the only species in 

 which the flowers (Fig. 1636) are showy. It is often grown as a winter 

 flowering shrub. 



Fig. 1635. — Garrya elliptica with catkins 

 growing on a wall. 



(I <lll[)tUil. 



flower. 



Male catkins in 



H 



i 



A second order which may be conveniently referred to here is the 

 Myricales. Like the last it is small and contains the single family Myri- 

 caceae, with the single genus Myrica. The genus contains some forty-five 

 species which are widely distributed. One, Myrica gale (Fig. 1637) (Sweet 

 Gale or Bog Myrtle), is a common low-growing shrub of bogs and moors 

 in the British Isles. It is also found in Europe, Asia and America in the 

 north temperate regions. 



The flowers are either monoecious or dioecious and are protected by 

 bracts, but in none of the flowers is a perianth found. The male inflores- 

 cence is an upright catkin and consists of up to twenty flowers, each being 

 a group of four stamens between two bracteoles. The female flowers (Fig. 

 1638) are grouped in short catkins and comprise an ovary formed from two 

 carpels bearing a pair of long stigmas. The two bracteoles are fused to the 

 base of the ovary. The fruit is a drupe which secretes wax or resin from the 



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