CELASTKACEAE 735 



2. FACHYSTIMA Baf. 



Small or depressed evergreen shrubs. Leaves opposite : blades leathery, toothed or 

 entire : stipules minute, deciduous. Flowers greenish, solitary or clustered in the axils 

 of the leaves. Sepals 4, roundish. Petals 4, longer than the sepals. Stamens 4, in- 

 serted under the disk : filaments short. Disk flat, 4-angled. Ovary 2-celled, pyramidal, 

 merging into the disk : style very short : stigma obscurely 2-lobed. Ovules 2 in each 

 cavity, erect on thickish funicles. Capsule 2-celled, leathery, somewhat flattened, opening 

 lengthwise by 2 valves. Seed surrounded by a white aril : cotyledons elongated. 



1. Pachystima Canbyi A. Gray. A diffuse glabrous undershrub. Stems much 

 branched, the branches decumbent, often creeping, 1-4 dm. long, wiry : leaf-blades linear 

 or linear-oblong or rarely oblanceolate, 0.5-2 cm. long, obtuse, serrate, short-petioled, dark 

 green above, paler beneath : pedicels slender, solitary or clustered, 3-6 mm. long : sepals 

 broadly ovate, about 1 mm. long, rounded at the apex : hypanthium a broadly campanu- 

 late tube : petals ovate, 1.5 mm. long, obtuse, more or less revolute : capsules oblong, 4 

 mm. in diameter, with 2 cavities, 1-2 erect seeds in each, dehiscent at maturity. 



On cliffs and shaded banks, southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. Spring. 



3. CELASTRUS L. 



Usually twining unarmed shrubs. Leaves alternate : blades entire or toothed : stipules 

 minute, slender. Flowers in axillary or terminal racemes, or panicles, sometimes in- 

 clined to be dioecious. Sepals 5, crowning the urn-shaped hypanthium. Petals 5, in- 

 serted under the disk. Stamens 5, inserted at the sinuses of the disk. Disk cup-shaped, 

 5-lobed. Ovary 2-4-celled, the septa not always complete : style short, stout : stigma 2-4- 

 lobed. Ovules 2 in each cavity, erect. Capsule oblong or subglobose, leathery, 2-4-celled, 

 opening loculicidally. Seeds 1-2 in each cavity, erect, surrounded by an aril. STAFF- 

 TREE. SHRUBBY OR CLIMBING BITTERSWEET. WAXWORK. 



1. Celastrus scandens L. A climbing shrub, with unarmed sometimes twining 

 branches. Leaf-blades membranous, elliptic, oval, oblong, ovate or obovate, 6-10 cm. 

 long, acuminate, serrate, glabrous or nearly so, usually acute at the base ; petioles 8-20 

 mm. long : panicles drooping, 4-8 cm. long : sepals 4, ovate, often eroded : corolla green- 

 ish, about 8 mm. broad : petals 5, oblong or obovate, obtuse, eroded : stamens 5, shorter 

 than the petals : capsules subglobose, 1 cm. in diameter, finely wrinkled, orange, opening 

 by 3 valves : seeds enclosed in a scarlet aril. 



Along streams, thickets and fences, Quebec to Manitoba, south to Georgia and the Indian Territory. 

 Spring or early summer. 



4. MAYTENUS Molina. 



Glabrous evergreen shrubs or small trees. Bark pale. Leaves alternate : blades 

 leathery or fleshy-leathery, entire or toothed : stipules minute, deciduous. Flowers polyg- 

 amous or dioecious, solitary, clustered or cymose, axillary. Sepals 5. Petals 5, inserted 

 on the edge of the disk. Stamens 5, inserted under the disk. Disk flat, undulate. Ovary 

 immersed in the disk, 2-4-celled. Style none or columnar. Stigma 2-4-lobed. Ovules 

 1-2 in each cavity, erect. Capsules leathery, 1-3-celled, opening loculicidally, 2-3-valved. 

 Seeds erect, surrounded at the base or throughout by an aril. Endosperm wanting or 

 fleshy. 



1. Maytenus phyllanthoides Benth. An evergreen shrub or small tree 1-3 m. tall 

 with an ash-colored bark. Leaf -blades obovate or oblong-oblanceolate, 2-4 cm. long, ob- 

 tuse, glabrous, undulate or obscurely toothed, more or less cuneately narrowed into a short, 

 stout petiole: clusters few-flowered: hypanthium broadly turbinate : sepals 5, triangular 

 or ovate-triangular, acutish : corolla 2-3 mm. broad : petals 5 : stamens shorter than the 

 petals : capsules obovoid, 8-12 mm. in diameter, deep red, glabrous, opening by 3 subor- 

 bicular valves : seeds oblong, 5 mm. long, curved, minutely roughened, apiculate. 



in thickets, southern peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in Mexico and Central America. 



5. CROSSOPETALUM P. Br. 



Glabrous or pubescent shrubs, commonly with a pale bark. Leaves alternate, opposite 

 or whorled : blades entire or toothed. Flowers perfect, solitary, or cymosely disposed in 

 the axils. Hypanthium urn-like. Sepals 4-5, roundish. Disk flattish, 4-5-lobed. Petals 



