142 CHINESE ECONOMIC TREES 



HAMAMELIDACEAE 



Trees or shrubs. Leaves deciduous, alternate, simple, petiolate and 

 stipulate. Flowers perfect, or unisexual, in compact spikes or heads. 

 Sepals 4 or 5 ; calyx adherent to the ovary; petals 4-5 or absent; stamens 

 4-5, rarely 8. Ovary inserted in the hottom of the receptacle, 2 celled, 

 1 ovule in each cell, rarely more; styles 2, usually persistent. Fruit a 

 woody capsule, opening in 2 valves at the summit, also often imperfectly 

 dehiscent by an inner septum. Seeds usually 1 in each cell, if more, 

 only the lower ones are fertile. Seeds winged or rarely wingless. Em- 

 bryo surrounded by fleshy albumen. 



About 20 genera with many species in the subtropic and warm 

 temperate regions of both hemispheres. Liquidambar is the only 

 arborescent genus in China. 



LIQUIDAMBAR 



Trees with resinous, fragrant sap and often corky branchlets. 

 Leaves deciduous, alternate, simple, palmately 3-7 lobed, glandular 

 serrate, long and slender petiolate, with small caducous stipules. 

 Flowers monoecious, rarely perfect, apetalous. Staminate flowers without 

 perianth, in racemose clusters; stamens indefinite, intermixed with 

 small scales; filaments short and filiform. Pistillate flowers in a solitary, 

 globular head on a slender peduncle, composed of confluent ovaries 

 subtended by minute scales; stamens 4, rudimentary, inserted on the 

 apex of the calyx ; ovary partly inferior, 2 celled ; ovules several or many ; 

 styles 2, incurved. Fruit a globose spiny head composed of the coherent 

 capsules and their elongated styles. Capsule dehiscent at the apex 

 between the base of the stigmas. Seeds 1 or 2, compressed, winged. 



A genus of about 4 species in C. and W. Asia and N. and C. 

 America. 



Liquid storax, a gray-brown resin, is derived from L. orientalis, used 

 in the Orient for medicine, perfumery and for the preparation of incense. 

 The resin from the American species enters into the composition of 

 chewing gum'. The wood is straight grained, dark colored and handsome. 



Liquidambar formosana Hance. 



(Fung Hsiang Shu. ) Sweet gum. 



Tree 20-40 m. tall, frequently with buttressed trunk. Leaves 

 usually 3 lobed, cordate, rarely truncate; lobes broad at the base, tapering 



