STAPIIYLEACEJE. (iiLADDER-NUT FAMILY.) 77 



and 3-valvcd. Seeds 1 - 2 in eacli cell, enclosed in a fleshy scarlet aril. Embryo 

 in the axis of copious fleshy albumen. — Climbing shrubs, with alternate leaves, 

 and small greenish flowers in axillary or terminal racemes. 



1. C. scandens, L. Leaves oblong-ovate or obovate, acuminate, serrate, 

 smooth ; racemes terminating the branches, nearly simple ; capsule orange- 

 colored. — Woods and banks of streams along the mountains of North Carolina, 

 and northward. Juno. 



5. MAYTENUS, Juss. 



Flowers polygamous. Calyx flat, 5-cleft. Petals 5. Stamens 5, very short, 

 inserted with the petals under the edge of the flat circular disk which envelops 

 the ovary. Ovary 2-3-cellcd, with a solitary erect ovule at the base of each 

 cell. Style very short and thick. Stigma 2-3-lobed. Capsule coriaceous, 

 1 - 3-celled, loculicidally 2 - 3-valved, yellow within. Seeds 1-3, enclosed in a 

 thin pulpy aril. Embryo in the axis of thin fleshy albumen. — Trees or shrubs. 

 Leaves opposite or alternate. Flowers chiefly in axillary clusters. 



1. M. phyllanthoides, Benth. Leaves fleshy, alternate, oblong-obo- 

 vate, obscurely crenate and reticulate, glabrous ; flowers minute, clustered, ap- 

 parently perfect; capsule obovate, 3-angled, 1-celled, 1-3-seeded. — South 

 Florida. — Leaves V-W lon<?. 



Order 41. STAPHYLEACEJ3. (Bladder-nut Family.) 



Erect shrubs, witli opposite pinnate stipulate leaves, and perfect regular 

 pentandrous flowers. — Calyx 5-parted, colored. Petals and stamens 5, 

 perigynous. Ovary 2 - 3-celled. Ovules 1 - 8 in each cell, attached to 

 the central angle of the cell. Fruit capsular or baccate. Seeds bony, 

 truncated at the base. Embryo straight in scanty albumen. 



1. STAPHYLEA, L. Bladder-nut. 



Flowers perfect. Calyx erect, persistent. Petals obovate, erect, alternate 

 with the sepals, imbricated in the bud. Stamens inserted with the petals into 

 the edge of the 5-lobed disk which fills the base of the calyx. Ovary 3-celled, 

 the cells sometimes separate above, 6-8-ovuled. Capsule 3-lobed, membrana- 

 ceous, inflated, few-seeded. — Leaflets stipellate. Flowers white, in drooping 

 compound racemes. 



1. S. trifolia, L. Leaves trifoliolatc ; leaflets ovate, acuminate, serrate, 

 pubescent beneath, the terminal one long-stalked; racemes lateral and terminal ; 

 6tyles 3, connivent ; capsule reticulated, 1-3-seeded. — Damp woods, North 

 Carolina, Tennessee, and northward. May. — Shrub 10° high. Capsules 2' 

 long, 1' in diameter. 



7* 



