CAPRIFOLIACE^E. WOODBINE TRIBE. 295 



the Apple, exceedingly rare on the Oak. The stem is 

 green and smooth, separating easily when dead into 

 bone-like joints ; the leaves are thick and leathery, of 

 a yellow hue, the whole plant being most conspicuous in 

 winter, when its white berries ripen. Fl. March May. 

 Perennial. 



ORD. XLIL CAPEIFOLIACE^E. THE WOODBINE 

 TRIBE. 



Calyx attached to the ovary, usually with bracts at 

 the base; corolla regular or irregular, 4 5-cleft; 

 stamens equal in number to the lobes of the corolla and 

 alternate with them ; ovary 3 5-celled \ stigmas 1 3 ; 

 fruit usually fleshy, crowned by the calyx. This tribe 

 comprises shrubs and herbaceous plants of very different 

 habits, and is interesting from containing the fragrant 

 Honeysuckle or Woodbine, and the elegant little plant 

 which Linnaeus fixed on to .commemorate his name. 

 They are principally confined to the northern hemi- 

 sphere, and among them, several are natives of Britain, 

 which will be found described at length in " Forest 

 Trees of Britain," vol. ii. The common Elder was 

 formerly held in high repute for its medicinal proper- 

 ties ; and preparations of the leaves, flowers, and fruit 

 are still used as medicine in rural districts. The roasted 

 berries of Triosteum perfoliatum have been used as a 

 substitute for coffee. Leycesteria formosa, a beautiful 

 shrub from the mountains of Nepal, where it flowers at 

 an elevation of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, is now becom- 

 ing a common ornament in our gardens. It is most 

 attractive when in a flowering state, from the contrast 

 of the deep green hue of its stein and leaves with the 

 purple colour of its floral leaves and berries. 



1. SAMBUCUS (Elder). Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla wheel- 

 shaped, 5-lobed ; stamens 5 ; stigmas 3, sessile ; berry 

 3 4-seeded. (Name from the Greek, sambuke, a musical 



