172 BOTANY. 



at the base, colored, imln-icated in aestivation. Petals five, alternate with an 

 imbricated aestivation. Stamens five, alternate with the petals. Disk lara;e 

 and urceolate. Ovary two- to three-celled, superior ; ovules usuallv 

 ascending ; styles two to three, cohering at the base. Fruit membranous 

 or fleshy, indehiscent, or opening internally, often partly abortive. Seeds 

 anatropal, roundish, truncated at the hilum, with a bony testa; albumen 

 generally ; embryo straight, with thick cotyledons and a small inferior 

 radicle. Shrubs, with opposite, pinnate leaves, having stipules and stipels. 

 The plants are irregularly scattered over the globe, and are found in 

 Europe, America, and Asia. Some of them appear to be subacrid, while 

 others are bitter and astringent. The species of Staphylea receive the 

 name of Bladder-nut, on account of their inflated bladder-like pericarp. 

 They are cultivated as handsome shrubs. Tlii-ee known genera are 

 enumerated, and fourteen species. Example : *Staphylea. Staphylea 

 trifolia, or Bladder-nut, represents this order in America. 



Order 160. Celastrace^, the Spindle-tree Family. Sepals four to five, 

 imbricated in {i^stivation. Petals four to five, with a broad base, and an 

 imbricated (estivation, rarely wanting. Stamens alternate with the petals ; 

 anthers erect. Disk large, flat, and expanded, surrounding the ovary, to 

 which it adheres. Ovary superior, two- to five celled ; ovules ascending, 

 one or numerous, attached to the axis by a short funiculus. Fruit either a 

 two- to five-celled capsule, with loculicidal dehiscence, or drupaceous. 

 Seeds one or many in each cell, anatropal, usually ascending, and sometimes 

 arillate; albumen fleslw ; embryo straight, with flat cotyledons and a short 

 radicle. Small trees or shrubs, with simple, alternate, rarely opposite leaves, 

 and small deciduous stipules. They inhabit the warm parts of Europe, 

 North America, and Asia, and many are found at the Cape of Good Hope. 

 The order contains twenty-four known genera, and 260 species. It has 

 been divided into two tribes: 1. Euonymea% with capsular fruit. 2. 

 Elteodendrea», with drupaceous fruit. Exami)les : *Celastrus, "Euonymus, 

 *Oreophila, Elseodendron. Some authors include the last order with 

 Celastracete, as a sub-order. In North America there are three genera 

 (Euonymus, Celastrus, and Oreophila), with five species. Euonymus 

 americanus is called burning bush, from the bright scarlet arillodes and 

 crimson capsules. 



Euonymus europaeus. Spindle tree (Europe) {pi. 71, ^y. 5); a^ flowering 

 branch; J, flower; c, fruit; ^, seed; 6, vertical section of do. 



Order 161, Stackiiou:5Iace.e, the Stackhousia Family, Calyx five-cleft, 

 equal, with an inflated tube. Petals five, equal, inserted at the top of the 

 tube of the calyx, claws of the petals united, limb narrow and stellate. 

 Stamens five, unequal, attached to the tubes of the calyx. Ovary superior, 

 three- to five-celled, cells partially distinct ; ovules solitary, erect ; styles 

 three to five, sometimes united at the base ; stigmas simple. Fruit consisting 

 of three to five indehiscent pieces, which are sometimes winged, and are 

 attached to a central persistent column. Seeds anatropal ; embryo long, 

 erect, in the axis of fleshy albumen. Shrubs with simple, entire, alternate, 

 172 



