RUTACEAE. 



163 



OKIXA. 



(Family Rutaceae). 



Shrubs, glabrous: deciduous. 

 Twigs moderate, more or less 3- 

 sided, sometimes zig-zag: pith 

 rather small, pale, rounded, 

 spongy. Buds sessile or forming 

 short spurs, solitary, ovoid with 

 about 10 broad scales. Leaf-scars 

 alternate, half-round or obtusely 

 triangular, moderate, low: bundle- 

 trace 1, C-shaped, compound: sti- 

 pule-scars lacking. 



The winter-buds of Orixa, with 

 the conspicuous pale margin of 

 their scales, are quite unlike those 

 of any other shrub or tree likely 

 to be encountered. The winter- 

 characters of 0. japonica are pic- 

 tured by Schneider, f, 97, and 

 Shirasawa, 254, pi. 6. At differ- 

 ent times it has been placed in 

 Celastrus, Ilex and Othera. 



Like other Rutaceae, Orixa produces an essential oil in its 

 various parts that gives it a characteristic odor. Sometimes, 

 as in Citrus, such odors are pleasant to our senses: some- 

 times, as in the rue, they are very disagreeable. Orixa is of 

 the odoriferous rather than the aromatic type. 

 Twigs olive: bud-scales with pale ciliate margin. O. japonica. 



