128 BOTANY. 



alternate with its segments, and equal to them in number ; filaments straight ; 

 anthers adnate, bilocular, introrse. Disk 0. Ovary free, fleshy, somewhat 

 truncate, two- to six-celled ; ovules solitary, anatropal, pendulous from a 

 cup-shaped funiculus ; stigma nearly sessile, lobed. Fruit fleshy, indehiscent, 

 with two to six monospermous nucules, and hence it is sometimes called a 

 nuculanium. Seed suspended ; albumen large, fleshy ; emoryo small, lying 

 next the hilum ; cotyledons small ; radicle superior. Evergreen trees or 

 shrubs, with alternate or opposite, coriaceous, simple, exstipulate leaves. 

 They are found in various parts of the world, as in Europe, North and 

 South America, and Africa. Lindley enumerates eleven genera, including 

 110 species. Examples : Jlex, Prinos, Nemopanthes. 



All the above-mentioned genera are North American. The American 

 Holly, Ilex opaca, has less glossy leaves and less brilliant berries than the 

 European, I. aquifolium. The leaves of Ilex paraguayensis constitute the 

 Yerba mate or Paraguay tea. 



Ilex aquifolium, European Holly {pi. 71, j^^. 6) ; a-g. 



Order 105. Ebenacea;, the Ebony Family. Flowers hermaphrodite or 

 unisexual. Calyx three- to seven-divided, nearly equal, persistent. Corolla 

 gamopetalous, regular, deciduous ; somewhat coriaceous ; limb three- to 

 seven-divided ; aestivation imbricated. Stamens either attached to the 

 corolla or hypogynous, two or four times as many as the coroUine segments, 

 rarely equal to them in number, and then alternate with them ; filaments 

 usually in two rows, the inner row having smaller anthers ; anthers erect, 

 lanceolate, bilocular, with longitudinal dehiscence. Ovary free, sessile, 

 plurilocular ; ovules one to two in each cell, pendulous ; style divided, 

 rarely simple ; stigmas bifid or simple. Fruit fleshy, round or oval, the 

 pericarp sometimes opening regularly. Seeds few ; testa membranous ; 

 embryo straight, nearly in the axis of cartilaginous albumen ; cotyledons 

 leafy ; radicle taper, next the hilum. Trees or shrubs, not lactescent, with 

 alternate, exstipulate, coriaceous leaves. They are chiefly found in tropical 

 regions, and many species are met with in India. The plants are in general 

 remarkable for the hardness and durability of their wood. Some yield 

 edible fruit. Diospyros ebenus, and other African and Asiatic species, 

 supply Ebony, which is the black duramen of the tree. Other species of 

 Diospyros furnish Ironwood. Diospyros virginiana, the Persimmon, yields 

 a fruit which is astringent when green, but becomes sweet and eatable 

 when ripe, especially after being acted on by frost. D. kahi is the Keg-fig 

 of Japan, the fruit of which resembles a plum. Lindley notices nine 

 genera, including 160 species. Examples : Diospyros, Royena, Maba. 



Order 106. Styracace^, the Storax Family. Calyx persistent, with an 

 entire or a five- or four-divided limb. Corolla gamopetalous, regular, 

 inserted in the calyx ; aestivation imbricated or valvate. Stamens definite 

 or 00, attached to the corolline tube, of unequal length ; filaments often 

 slightly united at their base in one or more parcels ; anthers innate, dithecal, 

 introrse. Ovary either free or cohering more or less to the calycine tube, 

 two- to five-celled, the septa occasionally deficient towards the centre ; 

 ovules, two to four in each cell, or 00, pendulous, sometimes the upper ones 

 128 



