SYMPLOCACEAE 913 



concave : corolla-lobes orbicular-ovate, 2 mm. long ; appendages ovate-lanceolate or lanceo- 

 late, acute or acutish : staminodia ovate, acute or acutish, usually erose-denticulate, about 

 as long as the petals : ovary hairy : berries oval or obovoid-oblong, 10-15 mm. long. 



In sandy soil, Missouri and Kansas to Georgia, Florida and Texas. GUM ELASTIC. BLACK HAW. 

 SHITTIMWOOD. 



13. Bumelia tfenax (L. ) Willd. An unarmed or thorny shrub, or small tree, 2-9 

 m. tall, its twigs, the lower surface of the leaf-blades and the inflorescence clothed with a 

 lustrous silky pubescence, at first whitish, becoming tawny or brownish, the stem seldom over 

 16 cm. in diameter. Leaves numerous ; blades oblanceolate, obovate-spatulate or obovate 

 (those of the twigs sometimes inclined toward oblong-elliptic), 2-7 mm. long, obtuse or re- 

 tuse, glabrous above, slightly revolute ; petioles 2-5 mm. long : fascicles many-flowered : 

 pedicels slender, 8-13 mm. long, or rarely shorter, very slightly enlarged upward : sepals 

 concave, suborbicular, l-rl.5 mm. long, erose-denticulate or entire, rounded at the apex or 

 notched ; appendages ovate or ovate-lanceolate, often erose on one side : staminodia ovate, 

 1.5-2 mm. long, obtuse : berries obovoid or oblong-obovoid, 10-14 mm. long, often tipped 

 with the slender persistent style. 



In thickets and sandy soil, mostly near the coast, North Carolina to Cape Canaveral and Cedar 

 Keys, Florida. BLACK HAW. IRONWOOD. TOUGH BUCKTHORN. 



5. MfMUSOFS L. 



Tropical shrubs or trees, with a milky sap. Leaves alternate : blades leathery, with 

 fine and often indistinct venation. Flowers in clusters at the ends of short branches. 

 Sepals 6-12, in 2 rows, the exterior set valvate. Corolla-lobes mostly included in the 

 calyx, 6-12, with two appendages at each sinus, the tube short. Stamens 6-12, adnate to 

 the corolla-tube, opposite the appendages : filaments slightly dilated below, anthers often 

 slightly pubescent and toothed at the end : sacs opening lengthwise. Staminodia 6-12, 

 sometimes cohering with the stamens, commonly toothed or cut. Ovary 6-8-celled, pu- 

 bescent. Berry subglobose, fleshy. Seeds mostly solitary, rarely few, oblique, slightly 

 compressed, with a crustaceous or hard testa. Endosperm fleshy. Embryo nearly central. 



1. Mimusops Sifeberi A. DC. An evergreen tree, sometimes 10 m. tall, with a dis- 

 torted trunk nearly 3 dm. in diameter, the young foliage finely pubescent. Leaves clus- 

 tered at the ends of branchlets ; blades leathery, oblong, 3-10 cm. long, notched at the apex, 

 slightly revolute, glabrous in age, rounded or acute at the base, with numerous obscure 

 lateral nerves ; petioles rather slender, 1-2 cm. long : clusters few- or many-flowered : pedi- 

 cels red-tomentose, drooping, 1-3 cm. long : calyx pubescent like the pedicels : sepals lan- 

 ceolate or ovate-lanceolate, rather acute : corolla about 1.5-2 cm. broad, light yellow ; lobes 

 linear, commonly toothed at the apex : appendages much like the corolla-lobes, but only 

 as long : staminodia triangular : stamens shorter than the petals : berry depressed-globose, 

 nearly 3 cm. in diameter, scaly, with a milky juice : seed smooth. 



Southern Florida, on the Keys. Also in the Bahamas and the West Indies. Spring ; fruit matur- 

 ing in the fall. WILD SAPODILLA. WILD DILLY. 



FAMILY 3. SYMPLOCACEAE Miers. SWEET-LEAF FAMILY. 



Shrubs or trees, with glabrous foliage, or the pubescence, if present, of simple 

 hairs. Leaves alternate : blades usually leathery, often yellowish and yielding 

 a yellow dye : stipules wanting. Inflorescence axillary, variously disposed, 

 sometimes fascicled. Flowers often polygatno-dioecious, or sometimes perfect, 

 regular. Calyx inferior : lobes 5, imbricated, the whole accrescent. Corolla of 

 5 nearly distinct, or united petals, often imbricated. Stamens numerous, ad- 

 nate, in several series, to the corolla-tube. Flaments more or less flattened, 

 distinct or cohering. Anthers short, innate. Ovary 2-5-celled. Styles terminal, 

 united. Stigmas entire or slightly lobed. Ovules 2 or rarely 4 in each cavity, 

 pendulous from the upper part of the angle. Fruit a berry, or a drupe with a thin 

 or thick hard endocarp. Seeds often solitary. Embryo terete, straight or curved, 

 axile or nearly so. 



1. SYMPLOCOS L. 



Characters of the family. SWEET -LEAF. 



1. Symplocos tinctoria (L. ) L'Her. An often evergreen shrub or small tree, reach- 

 ing a height of 10 m., with a trunk diameter of less than 3 dm., the bark smooth or warty. 



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