624 ORDER 112. EUPHORBIACE^E. 



and berry-like, inclosing the 1-celled, 1-seeded acheniura. Seed ascending, embryo 

 straight, albumen scanty. 



Genera 4, species 30, thinly dispersed throughout the Northern hemisphere. 



1. SHEPHER'DIA, Nutt. (In honor of John Shepherd, curator of 

 ilie botanic garden of Liverpool.) Flowers $ $. $ Calyx 4-cleft; 

 xta. 8, alternating with 8 glands. $ Calyx tube closely investing the 

 ovary, but not adhering to it, limb 4-lobed ; stv. 1 ; stig. oblique ; 

 berry globous, composed of the fleshy calyx. Shrubs with spinescent 

 branches, and opposite, deciduous leaves. Fls. aggregated. 



1 S. Canadensis Nult. IMS. elliptic-ovate, nearly srnooth above, clothed beneath 

 with stellate hairs and ferruginous, deciduous scales. A shrub 6 8f high, found 

 in Vt., N. Y. and "W. to Wis. (Lapham), and Can., by streams and on river banks. 

 Leaves obtuse at each end, the upper surface green, with few. scattered, stellate 

 hairs, lower surface white, with rust-colored spots, densely tomentous, margin 

 entire; petioles 2 4" long, lamina 1 2' by -J 1'. Fls. minute, in small, late- 

 ral, nearly sessile clusters. Berries oval, scaly, consisting of the fleshy calyx in- 

 closing the achenta in its tube, sweetish to the taste. Jl. A curious and orna- 

 mental shrub. 



2 S. arg6utea Nutt. Lvs. oblong-ovate, obtuse, both surfaces smooth and 

 equally covered with silvery scales. A small tree, 12 18f high, with thorny 

 branches. Leaves 1 2' by 4 9". Petioles ' long, margin entire, the surface 

 of a light, silvery hue, sprinkled with rust-colored spots. Fruit the size of a cur- 

 runt, scat let, well-flavored, f Mo. 



2. ELvEAG'NUS, L. OLEASTER. (Gr. e/Uzm, the olive; the trees 

 Laving a resemblance to the olive.) Flowers perfect. Calyx 4-cleft, 

 caiiipanulate, colored on the inner side ; sta. 4, alternate with the calyx 

 lobes ; nnth. subscssilc ; sty. short ; fruit baccate, consisting of the 

 aclicnium inclosed in the dry, farinaceous calyx tube, marked with 8 

 furrows. Troes or shrubs, cultivated for the silvery foliage. Leaves 

 alternate. 



1 E. argentea Ph. Lvs. Byroad-ovate or oval, wavy, acutish at each end, both 

 surfaces, particularly the lower, silvery and shining, with ferruginous scales. A 

 beautiful shrub, with reddish branches and small, roundish-ovate, cartilaginous 

 drupes, f Mo. 



2 E. angustifolia L. Lvs. narrow-lanceolate, acute at each end, entire, al- 

 ternate, smooth, canescent; fls. axillary, aggregate. A tree of middle size, culti- 

 vated for its beautiful foliage and pleasant date-like fruit, f Eur. 



3 E. latifolia L. Lvs. ovate, evergreen, f E. Ind. 



3 HIPPOPHJE rhamnoides, with linear-lanceolate Ivs., silvery white be- 

 Jieath, te.trandrous, diaxious flmvers, and a crowd of yellow, acid drupes, is a Euro- 

 pean shrub, occasionally seen in shrubberies. 



ORDER CXII. EUPHORBIACE^E. SPUBGEWORTS. 



Herbs, shrubs or trees, usually with a milky, acrid juice. Flowers diclinous, Bome- 

 liniea enclosed in a cup-shaped involucre. Calyx inferior, sometimes wanting. Cor- 

 i>lla scale-like or colored, often wanting. Ovary free, sessile or stipitate, 2, 3 (or 

 more)-carpeled ; styles distinct or united. Fruit of 2, 3 (or more), 1 to 2-seeded car- 

 pels (rarely of 1 carpel) united to a common axis, at length separating. Embryo 

 in fleshy albumen. Fig. 371. 



Gtinern 200, specif* 2500 (Lindley). chiefly natives of S. A merles, not more than CO specie." 

 liciiiK found in N. America, north of Mexico. 



rrperiifx.\n acrid, .stimulant nrnl poisonous principle, residing' chiefly in tho milky juice, 

 pervades the whole order. This principle varies in activity from mild stimulants to the most 

 iicttve poisons ; hut it is volatile and easily expelled by heat. Tapinen is a starch-like accu 

 lation formed in the roots of the Jatropha Manihot. 'When f:-cl . :his root U a violmt 



