FRAXINUS 107 



smooth on both sides, 3-5 cm. long, J/2-IJH2 cm. wide, petioles J^-l cm. 

 long; flowers solitary or 2-5 in the axils, on slender peduncles, ^-l^ 

 cm. long, funnelform, purple to greenish-purple, 10-15 mm. wide, corolla 

 lobes oblong to ovate, 5-6 mm. long; berry oblong to ovoid, red or orange- 

 red : v u 1 g a r e, common. 



Frequent in waste places, originally an escape from gardens : Ont-Va- 

 Kan- Colo- M inn ; native of Europe. Of great value in covering eroding 

 slopes and banks, and waste places; especially ornamental as a trailer on 

 stone walls. Grown readily from cuttings, suckers, or seeds. 



Gentianales Gentian Order 

 Oleaceae Olive Family 



Trees or shrubs, with typically opposite simple or compound leaves; 

 flowers perfect, polygamous or dioecious, sepals united, 2-4, or lacking, 

 petals united, 2-4, or lacking, stamens on the corolla tube, 2-4, ovary 

 2-celled, superior; fruit a capsule, berry, drupe or samara, 1 -few-seeded. 



A family of about 21 genera, widely distributed in temperate and 

 tropical regions. 



KEY TO THE GENERA 



1. Trees with pinnate leaves, dioecious flowers and 



winged fruit Fraxinus 



2. Shrubs with entire leaves and perfect flowers 



a. Flowers purple or yellow, rarely white ; fruit 



a capsule 



( 1 ) Flowers purple Syringa 



(2) Flowers yellow Forsythia 



b. Flowers white ; fruit a drupe or berry 



( 1 ) Petals thread-like, separate ; fruit a 



drupe Chionanthns 



(2) Petals united; fruit a berry Ligustrum 



Fraxinus L i n n e 1753 

 (L. fraxinus, the ash-tree) 



Trees with opposite odd-pinnate leaves; flowers in clusters, usually 

 appearing before the leaves, polygamous or dioecious; sepals 0-4, united, 

 petals 0-4, more or less united, stamens typically 2, ovary 2-celled; fruit 

 a 1 -seeded samara. 



Propagated by seed sown in autumn or stratified for spring sowing. 



