176 GAMOPETALOUS EXOGENS 



in describing the two, and DE CANDOLLE asks, under Prinos, "an 

 ab llice satis differt?" The bark of the species here described, used 

 in decoction, has long been a popular remedy for ill-conditioned 

 sores, administered both externally and internally. 



ORDER LVI. EBENACEAE. 



Trees, or shrubs; leaves mostly alternate and entire, without stipules ; flowers 

 regular, often pdlygamo-dioicous ; calyx free from the ovary ; stamens twice, to four 

 times, as many as the corolla-lobes ; fruit a several-celled berry; seeds 1 in each 

 cell, large and flat, with hard albumen. 



252. DIOS'PYROS, L. 



[Gr. Dis,dios, Jupiter, and Pyros, fruit; a rather fanciful name for such fruit.] 

 Dioicously polygamous: Calyx 4- 6-parted. Corolla urceolate, 4- 

 6-lobed. Stamens, in the sterile flowers, usually 16, in the fertile, 

 8 imperfect ones. Berry 4- to 8-celled, large, globular, the per- 

 sistent calyx mostly adhering to its base. Flowers axillary, sub- 

 sessile, fertile ones solitary, sterile ones mostly in threes, 



1. D. Vi rt^i n i alia , L. Leaves ovate-oblong, obtusely acuminate ; 

 parts of the flower chiefly in fours ; corolla subcoriaceous. 

 VIRGINIAN DIOSPYROS. Persimmon. Date Plum. 



Stem 20 to 50 or 60 feet high, irregularly hranched. Leaves 2 or 3 to 5 inches 

 long, subcoriaceous ; petioles % an inch to near an inch in length* Corotta 

 jochroleucous, obtusely 4-angled. Berry about an inch in diameter, reddish-orange 

 when mature. 

 Hob. Low grounds; along streams: frequent. Fl. June. Fr. November. 



Obs. The fruit, when ripe, is sweet and luscious, after being sub- 

 jected to the action of frost, but is remarkably harsh and astrin- 

 gent, in its green state. The bark of the tree is astringent and 

 tonic. The well-known hard black wood, called Ebony, is furnished 

 by D. Ebenum, and some other species of this genus. 



ORDER LVII. PLANTAGINACEAE. 



Chiefly stemJess herbs; leaves mostly all radical and rosulate, strongly ribbed; 

 flowers spiked, on naked scapes, regular, the parts usually in fours; calyx free 

 from the ovary; corolla membranaceous and dry; stamens inserted on the corolla- 

 tube, alternate with its lobes; capsule membranaceous, circumscissed, 2-cclled; 

 cells 1- or several-seeded ; seeds with fleshy albumen. 



253. PL.AN TA V GO, L. 



[The Latin name of the Plantain ; meaning obscure.] 



Sepals persistent, slightly connected at base, the margins scarious. 

 Corolla tubular, with reflexed lobes, marcescent. Stamens 4, much 

 exserted. Flowers whitish or ochroleucous, small, bracteate. 



t Capsule 6- S-seeded. 



1. P. major, L. Leaves oval or ovate, on long channelled petioles ; 

 scape terete, smooth ; spike long, cylindric. 

 GREATER PLANTAGO. Common, or Great Plantain. 



Perennial. Leaves 3 to 6 or 8 inches long, 5- to 7-ribbed, with an elastic filament 

 ta each rib, generally smoothish (sometimes quite hairy) ; petiole about as long a 

 the leaf. Scapes usually several, 6 to 18 inches high (including the spike of flow- 



