LYTHRARIE^. (LOOSESTHIFE F.VAIILY.) 319 



IHYRTUS, L. Myrtle. Rihdn. Ads. 



Calyx-tube nearly globular, the limb 5-partec] even in the bud. 

 Petals 5, spreading. Stamens numerous, in several rows ; anther-cells 

 parallel. Berry 3-3-celled, crowned with calyx-lobes ; seeds kidney- 

 jhaped — An evergreen, aromatic shrub. 



M. coiiiniiiiii§, L. 5 Common Myrtle, Ads. Rlhdn. .5 to 1.5 ; 

 :wigs tetragonal. Leaves opposite, coriaceous, short-petioled, ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, pellucid-dotted. Peduncles solitary, axillary, 

 shorter than leaves ; petals white, nearly thrice as long as calyx-lobes ; 

 berry blackish-blue, somewhat glaucous, edible — Spring and Summer 

 — Common on hillsides, and especially flourishing by watercourses ; 

 :oast and mountains to 1000 m. 



Order XLII. OR AN ATE-*:, (Pomegranate Family). 



Small trees ^ with regular, hermaphrodite flowers, calyx- 

 luhe adherent to ovary, lohes valvate in aestivation ; petals 

 5-7, inserted, with the numerous stamens, on throat of calyx / 

 )varj many -celled, free; style 1 ; fruit capsular — An order 

 separated from Myrtacese by valvate calyx-lobes, and leaves 

 without dots, and from Lythrariese by calyx-tube more or less 

 idherent to ovary, 



PUMICA, L. PoMEGRAKATE. Rummdn. 



Calyx woody-coriaceous, top-shaped, lobes 5-7. Petals 5-7, lan- 

 leolate, corrugated. Stamens very numerous, in many rows. Ovary 

 ivith two tiers of cells, the lower consisting of 3, and the upper of 5 

 )vules attached to tumid placentae, on the septa and walls. Capsule 

 lurrounded by a thick crust, crowned by the persistent, woody calyx- 

 obes ; seeds angular, pulpy ; embryo straight, cotyledons spirally con- 

 '^olute — A large branching shrub, or small tree, with showy, scarlet 

 )lossoms. 



P. Oranatum, L. 5 Rummdn. 3 to 4, branches opposite or 

 Iternate, often thorny. Leaves opposite, alternate, or clustered, cadu- 

 ous, oblong-oblauceolate — Summer — Common in cultivation, and 

 rild along northern borders of our district, and possibly in Gilead. 



Order XLIII. LYTHRARIE^, (Loosestrife Family). 



Her})S or shrubs with regular, hermaphrodite flowers, en- 

 ire leaves, no stipules, the calyx persistent, free, f'om the 2-9- 

 elled, many-seeded ovary and membranous pod, and bearing 

 he deciduous petals, if any, oti its throat, mid 4-14 free sta- 

 lens lower down / style filiform — Calyx valvular in the bud, 

 earing appendages between its lobes. Petals 4-7 or 0, often 

 jrrugated. Plancentae central, ovules anatropous, not albu- 

 linous. Capsule sometimes 1-celled by disappearance of 

 pta, septicidal, opening by a lid, or irregularly torn. 



