EBENACE^. (ebony PAMILY.) 293 



spreading; drupe comjiressed, V long. — Rich woods, Florida and Georgia. 

 March - April. 



* * Ovary 4-celled : corolla -i-lobed : stamens mostly 12, united below the middle: 

 drupe i-winged. 



2. H. tetraptera, L. Leaves oblong, finely serrate, at length smooth- 

 ish, 2' -4' long; flowers 2-4 in a cluster, 8"- 10" long; anthers erect. — 

 River banks. March -April. 



3. H. parviflora, Michx. Tomentose, at length smoothish; leaves 

 thin, obloug-ovaie, acuminate, finely serrate; flowers 2-4 in a cluster-lik£ 

 raceme; calyx top-shaped, 4-toothed; corolla deeply 4-parted; stamens 12, 

 the pubescent filaments united at the base ; style glabrous ; drupe broadly 

 club shaped, narrowly 2 - 4-winged. — Borders of swamps, East Florida [J. D. 

 Smith). 



3, SYMPLOCOS, Jacq. 



Calyx 5-cleft, more or less adherent to the 2 - 5-celled ovary. Corolla 5 - 

 lO-petalous. Stamens 15 or more, monadelphous or polyadelphous, inserted 

 at the base of the corolla : anthers rouudish. Ovules 2 - 4 in each cell, sus- 

 pended, anatropous. Style slender : stigma entire or 3 - 5-parted. Drupe 1 - 

 5-seeded. — Trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, serrate. Flowers axillary, in 

 racemes or clusters. 



1. S. tinctoria, L'Her. Leaves smooth, coriaceous, oblong, partly per- 

 sistent ; clusters sessile, 6- 12-flowered ; calyx smooth, top-shaped, the lobes 

 obtuse; corolla yellow; stamens in 5 sets; stigma entire; drupe baccate, 1- 

 seeded. — Low woods and banks of streams. March. — A small tree. Leaves 

 3' - 4' long, sweetish. Flowers very numerous. 



Order 82. EBENACE^. (Ebony Family.) 



Trees or shrubs, with watery juice. Leaves alternate, entire, with- 

 out stipules. Flowers polygamous ; the sterile cymose ; the fertile 

 ones larger, solitary. — Calyx free from the 3-12-celled ovary, per- 

 sistent, 3 - 7-lobed. Corolla 3 - 7-lobed, convolute in the bud, decidu- 

 ous. Stamens mostly 16, inserted on the base of the corolla, often 

 united by pairs; the filaments short and haiiy: anthers introrse. 

 Ovules 1-2 in each cell, anatropous, suspended. Styles distinct, or 

 united below. Fruit baccate, roundish, few-seeded ; the seeds large, 

 compressed. Embryo in the axis of hard albumen. Radicle superior. 



1. DIOSPYROS, L. Persimmon. 



Calyx 4 - 6-lobed. Corolla bell-shaped, 4 - 6-cleft. Stamens in the sterile 

 flower mostly 16; in the fertile 8, with the anthers sterile. Styles 2 or 4, 

 united below. Ovules solitary in the cells. Berry 4 - 8-seeded. 



1. D. Virglniana, L. Leaves ovate-oblong, mostly smooth, petioled ; 

 calyx 4-parted ; corolla 4-cleft ; styles 4, each 2-lobed ; ovary 8-celled. — Woods 

 and old fields. May -June. — A small tree. Flowers greenish. Berry eat- 

 able wheu fuUy ripe. 



