Genus ORNUS, Pers. 
Oleaceae. 
St/st. Nat. 
Ornus, Fraxinus, 
Diandria Monogynia. 
Syst. Lin. 
Synonymes. 
Of Authors. 
Frene a fleurs, Frene a la manne, Ornier, ) p RANCE 
Orne, J 
Bliihende Esche, 
Orno, 
Flowering Ash, Manna Ash, 
Germany. 
Italy. 
Britain and Anglo-America. 
Derivations. The word Omits is derived from the Greek ores, a mountain, having reference to some of the trees of tlis 
genus as growing on hills and mountains. The species were classified under the head of Fraxinus of the old authors. 
Generic Characters. Flowers hermaphrodite, or of distinct sexes. Calyx 4-parted or 4-toothed. Corolla 
4-parted ; segments long, ligulate. Stamens with long filaments. Stigma emarginate. Samara 1- 
celled, 1-seeded, winged. Don, Miller's Diet. 
HIS genus embraces trees natives of Europe, Asia, and of North 
America; with impari-pinnate leaves, and terminal or axillary- 
panicles of flowers, distinguished from those of the common ash, 
by having corollas. They may all be propagated from seeds, by 
grafting or budding, or by cuttings and layers. 
Several, if not all the species of both the genera Fraxinus and 
Ornus, extravasate sap, which, when it becomes concrete, is mild and mucilag- 
inous. This sap is produced more abundantly by the Ornus europaea, and some 
of its varieties, than by any other species ; and, when collected, it forms the 
manna of commerce. This substance is chiefly collected in Calabria and Sicily, 
where, according to the " Materia Medica" of. Geoffrey, the manna runs of itself 
from the trunks of some trees, while it does not flow from others unless wounds 
are made in the bark. Those trees which yield the manna spontaneously grow 
in the most favourable situations ; and the sap runs from them of its own accord 
only during the greatest heats of summer. It begins to ooze out about mid-day, 
in the form of a clear liquid, which soon thickens, and continues to run until 
the cool of the evening, when it begins to harden into granules, that are scraped 
off the following morning. When the night has been damp or rainy, the manna 
does not harden, but runs to the ground, and is lost. This kind is called manna 
in tears (manna lagrima, of the Sicilians) ; and it is as pure and white as the 
finest sugar. About the end of July, when the liquid ceases to flow of itself, 
incisions are made through the bark and soft wood ; and into these incisions 
slender pieces of straw or twig are inserted, on which the manna runs, and, in 
hardening, entirely coats them over. This is the common manna of the shops, 
which is thus collected in the form of tubes; and is called by the Sicilians, 
manna in carmoli, or manna cannoli. Another sort, which is inferior to the 
two preceding, is procured by making an oblong incision in the trees, in July or 
August, and taking off a piece of the bark about three inches in length, and two 
inches in breadth. This kind, which is called manna grassa, is the coarsest of 
all ; but, as it is obtained with the least trouble, and in great abundance, it is 
also the cheapest. Sometimes, instead of cutting out a piece of bark, and leaving 
the wound open, two horizontal gashes arc made, one a little above the other ; 
in the upper of which is inserted the stalk of a maple leaf, the point of the leaf 
being fixed in the lower gash, so as to form a sort of a cup to receive the manna 
