EUONYMUS— CELASTRUS 195 



less united, petals 4-5, stamens 4-5 alternate with the petals, borne on 

 a fleshy disk which fills the bottom of the calyx, ovary 3-5 celled; fruit 

 fleshy, dehiscent, seeds arilled, remaining on till late in the winter. 



KEY TO THE GENERA 



1. Shrub with opposite leaves, flowers in cymes, 



fruit lobed Euonymus 



2. Twining vine, leaves alternate, flowers in 



racemes Celastrus 



Euonymus L i 11 n e 1753 

 (Gr. e u, good, o n o m a, name, of doubtful application) 



Shrubs with opposite, simple, petioled, serrate leaves; branchlets four- 

 sided ; cymes axillary, several-flowered, 4-6 cm. long, borne on the season's 

 growth, flowers flat, 7-10 mm. wide, sepals 4-5, united at the base, petals 

 4-5, rounded, spreading, about 3 mm. long, stamens 4-5, usually borne on 

 the top of a flat disk which adheres to the calyx, ovary 3-5 celled; fruit 

 3-5 lobed, loculicidal, seeds 1-3 in each cell. 



A genus of 65 species, of the north temperate zone, besides the follow- 

 ing, two occur in Eastern North America and two in California. 



Euonymus atropurpureus Jacquin 1772 Burning Bush, Wahoo 



A shrub, sometimes tree-like, 3-4 m. high, bark greenish-gray; leaves 

 oval, oblong, tapering at the base, long acuminate at the apex, finely ser- 

 rate, glabrous above, puberulent beneath, 5-14 cm. long, 2.5-5.5 cm. wide, 

 petioles 1-1.5 cm. long; flowers in cymes, purplish, inconspicuous; fruit 

 3-5 lobed, pinkish, dehiscent, seeds with crimson aril : atropurpure- 

 u s, deep purple. 



Common throughout the southern part of the state and reported as 

 far north as Clay county in the Red River Valley. Distributed from New 

 York to Minnesota, Nebraska, southward and westward. Frequently 

 planted as an ornamental shrub on account of the brilliant scarlet fruits 

 which remain on the tree for several months during the fall and winter. 



Celastrus Linne 1753 

 (Greek name of some evergreen) 



Shrubs, mostly climbing; leaves alternate, thin, deciduous; flowers in 

 terminal or axillary racemes, or paniculate, inconspicuous, dioecious or 

 polygamo-dioecious, calyx 5 -lobed, petals 5, inserted below or along the 



