600 OLEACEAE. (Vou. II. 
Family 13. OLEACEAE Lindl. Nat. Syst. 1830. 
OLIVE FAMILY. 
Trees or shrubs (a few genera almost herbaceous) with opposite or rarely al- 
ternate simple or pinnate exstipulate entire or dentate leaves and regular per- 
fect polygamous or dioecious, 2-4-parted flowers in terminal or axillary panicles, 
cymes or fascicles. Calyx inferior, free from the ovary, usually small, some- 
times none. Corolla gamopetalous, polypetalous, or none. Stamens 2-4, 
inserted on the corolla; filaments usually short, separate; anthers mostly large, 
ovate, oblong or linear, 2-celled, the sacs longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary 
superior, 2-celled; ovules few in each cavity, anatropous or amphitropous; style 
usually short or none, rarely elongated. Fruit a capsule, samara, berry or 
drupe. Seeds erect or pendulous; endosperm fleshy, horny or wanting; embryo 
straight, rather large; cotyledons flat, or plano-convex; radicle usually short. 
About 21 genera and 500 species, of wide distribution in temperate and tropical regions. 
Fruit a loculicidal capsule; leaves simple; flowers complete. 1. Syringa. 
Fruit a samara; leaves pinnate; flowers dioecious. 2. Fraxinus. 
Fruit a drupe or berry; leaves simple. 
Flowers dioecious, apetalous, from catkin-like scaly buds. 3. Adelia. 
Flowers complete, polypetalous, paniculate; petals linear. 4. Chionanthus. 
Flowers complete, gamopetalous, paniculate. 5. Ligustrum. 
1. SYRINGA LIL. Sp. Pl. 9. 1753. 
Shrubs with opposite entire (rarely pinnatifid) leaves, and complete gamopetalous flow- 
ers, in dense terminal panicles or thyrses. Calyx campanulate, mostly 4-toothed, persistent. 
Corolla salverform, the tube cylindric, the limb 4-lobed, the lobes induplicate-valvate. Sta- 
mens 2, inserted near the summit of the corolla-tube; filaments short or slender; anthers 
ovate or oblong. Ovary 2-celled; ovules 2 in each cavity, pendulous; style elongated; stigma 
2-cleft. Capsule narrowly oblong, somewhat com- 
pressed, coriaceous, loculicidally 2-valved from above, 
the valves concave. Seeds pendulous, compressed, 
obliquely winged. [Greek, a pipe, or tube. ] 
About 12 species, natives of Asia and eastern Europe. 
1. Syringa vulgaris L. Lilac. (Fig. 2837.) 
Syringa vulgaris ,. Sp. Pl. 9. 1753. 
A glabrous shrub, 10°-25° high with terete branches. 
Leaves ovate, entire, deciduous, green on both sides, 
acuminate at the apex, truncate or subcordate at the 
base, 2/-5’ long, 1/-3/ wide; petioles 14/-1’ long; 
flowers lilac or white, very numerous, 5’/-7’’ long, 
4//-5/’ broad, in large terminal thyrses; calyx about 
1/’ long; corolla-tube about 1/’ in diameter; ultimate 
pedicels short; capsule 8’/-12’/ long, 2// thick. 
Escaped from gardens to roadsidesin New Jersey, south- 
eastern New York, and Pennsylvania. Native of eastern 
Europe. Old names, Pipe-tree, Pipe-privets, Blue-pipe, 
Blue-ash, Roman Willow. Flowers fragrant. April-May. 
"2 
2. FRAXINUS L. Sp. Pl. 1057. 1753. 
Trees, with opposite and in all our species odd-pinnate leaves, and small dioecious or 
polygamous (rarely perfect) greenish fasciculate or racemose-fasciculate flowers, appearing 
before or with the leaves from the axils of those of the previousseason. Calyx small, 4-cleft, 
irregularly toothed, entire or none. Petals none or 2-4, separate, or united in pairs at the 
base, induplicate-valvate. Stamens 2 (rarely 3 or 4), inserted on the base of the petals or 
hypogynous; filaments short or elongated; anthers ovate, oblong or linear. Ovules 2 in 
each cavity of the ovary, pendulous; stigma 2-cleft. Fruit a flat samara, winged at the apex 
only or all around, usually 1-seeded. Seed oblong, pendulous. [The ancient Latin name. ] 
About 4o species. Besides the following, 6 others occur in the southern and western states. 
Lateral leaflets stalked; calyx present in the fertile flowers. 
Body of the samara terete or nearly so, the wing chiefly terminal. 
Wing almost entirely terminal; leaves pale beneath. 
Wing manifestly extending down on the sides of the body. 
Foliage, twigs and pedicels glabrous or very nearly so. 
Foliage, young twigs and pedicels velvety-pubescent. 
Body of the samara flat, the wing extending all around it. 
Twigs terete; leaflets 5-7; samara elliptic or spatulate. 
Twigs 4-sided; leaflets 7-11; samata oblong or cuneate. 
Lateral leaflets sessile; calyx none; samara winged all around. 
. F. Americana. 
” 
. F. lanceolata. 
F. Pennsylvanica. 
or 
F. Caroliniana. 
. FF. quadrangulata. 
. FB. nigra. 
ny 
