LYTHRARIE^. (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY.) 319 



MYRTUS, L. Myrtle. Rihdn. Ads. 



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

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

 parallel. Berry 2-3-celled, crowned with calyx-lobes ; seeds kidney- 

 shaped. — An evergreen, aromatic shrub. 



M. communis, L. 5 Common Myrtle. Ads. Rihdn. .5 to 1.5 ; 

 twigs 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 ; 

 coast and mountains to 1000 m. 



Order XLII. GRANATEiE, (Pomegranate Family). 



Small trees, with regular, hermaphrodite flowers, calyx- 

 tube adherent to ovary, lobes valvate in cestivation / petals 

 5-7, insei'ted, with the numerous stamens, on throat of calyx / 

 ovarj 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 

 adherent to ovary, 



PUNICA, L. PoMEGRAKATE. Rummdn. 



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

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

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

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

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

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

 volute — A large branching shrub, or small tree, with showy, scarlet 

 blossoms. 



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

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

 cous, oblong-oblanceolate — Summer — Common in cultivation, and 

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



Order XLin. LiYTHRARIEiK, (LoosESTRrPK Family). 



Herbs or shrubs with regular, hermaphrodite flow srs, en- 

 tire leaves, no stipules, the calyxpersistent, free, from the 2-9- 

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

 the deciduous petals, if any, on its throat, and 4-14 free sta- 

 mens lower down ; style flliform — Calyx valvular in the bud, 

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

 corrugated. Plancentge central, ovules anatropous, not albu- 

 minous. Capsule sometimes 1-celled by disappearance of 

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



