166 



RUTACEAE. 



Skimmia. 

 (Family Rutaceae). 



More or less aromatic tender 

 shrubs: evergreen. Twigs mod- 

 erate, green, terete, smooth ex- 

 cept for oil-papules: pith relative- 

 ly large, round, spongily exca- 

 vated. Buds solitary, small, 

 round-conical, with 2 or 3 small 

 scales, for the most part sup- 

 pressed. Leaf - scars alternate, 

 low, half-round, crowded toward 

 the end of the season's growth, 

 separated, narrower and reduced 

 elsewhere: bundle-trace 1, round: 

 stipule-scars lacking. Leaves sim- 

 ple, slightly revolute, somewhat 

 crenate above the middle. The 

 small red or black berry-like 

 fruits are often present in winter. 

 Skimmias are tender and can 

 be grown only in the South, 

 where they are counted among 

 the best evergreen shrubs for smoky cities. 

 Leaves oblanceolate, blunt-pointed: fruit scarlet. 



(1). S. japonica. 

 Leaves more lanceolate and acuminate: fruit crimson. 



S. Fortunei. 



