Ligustrum.] OLEACEM. 267 



Order XLVII. olea'ceje. 



Shrubs or trees ; branches opposite ; buds scaly. Leaves opposite, 

 simple, or impari-pinnate, exstipulate. Flowers in 3-chotomous cymes, 

 small, white or greenish, 1-2-sexual ; pedicels opposite, 2-bracteolate. 

 Calyx inferior, 4-lobed or 0. Corolla hypogynous, regular, 4-partite, 

 deciduous, rarely 0, or of 4 free petals, Valvate in bud. Stamens 2, epipe- 

 talous or hypogynous. Disk 0. Ovary 2-celled ; style simple or 0, stigma 

 entire or 2-fid ; ovules 2 collateral in each cell, rarely 3 pendulous from 

 the septum, anatropous. Fruit 1-2-celled, cells 1- rarely 2-seeded. Seed 

 pendulous, testa sometimes winged, albumen fleshy or horny ; embryo 

 straight, cotyledons fiat thin. — Distrib. Trop. and temp, regions, chiefly 

 northern; genera 18 ; species 280. — Affinities. With . Jasmineoz. — 

 Properties. Olea europcea yields oil in its drupe, a bitter bark, and hard 

 durable wood. The flowers of 0. fragrans used to scent China tea. Manna 

 is the produce of several Ashes. Ash bark is cathartic. 



Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-lobed. Fruit a berry 1. Ligustrum. 



Corolla (in the Brit, sp.) Fruit a samara 2 Fraxinus. 



I. LIGUS'TRUM, Tournef. Privet. 



Shrubs, rarely small trees. Leaves often evergreen, quite entire. Flowers 

 in terminal thyrsoid cymes, honeyed, homogaraous. Calyx shortly tubular, 

 4-toothed, deciduous. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-lobed. Stamens 2, rarely 

 3, included in the corolla-tube. Ovary ovoid ; stigma 2-fid lobes obtuse ; 

 ovules 2 in each cell. Berry globose, 2-celled, cells 1-2-seeded, flesh oily. 

 Seeds ovoid or angled, albumen hard ; cotyledons ovate-lanceolate. — 

 Distrib. Europe, N. Asia, especially Japan ; species about 25. — Etym. 

 ligare, to bind, from a use of the twigs. 



Ii. vulga're, L. ; shrubby, leaves oblong-lanceolate quite entire. 

 Thickets in England, from Forfar and Lanark southd. ; (naturalized except in 

 chalk districts and coast cliffs, Wats.) ; wild in S. Ireland ; Channel Islands ; 

 fl. June-July. — A glabrous bush, 4-10 ft., almost evergreen ; branches 

 slender, bark smooth. Leaves 1-2 in., shortly petioled, acute. Panicles 

 1-3 in. Corolla J-| in. Berry § in. diam., globose, purple-black.— Distrib. 

 Europe, N. Africa. — Berries yield a rose-dye and a bland oil used for cooking 

 in Germany . 



2. FRAX'INUS, Tournef. Ash. 



Deciduous trees. Leaves simple or pinnate, leaflets opposite with an 

 odd one, toothed or serrate. Flowers polygamous or dioecious. Calyx 4-fid 

 or 0. Petals 0, or 4 connate at the base. Stamens 2, hypogynous. Ovary 

 oblong ; stigma subsessile 2-fid ; ovules 2-3 in each cell. Fruit a com- 

 pressed 1-2-celled samara, winged at the tip, cells 1-seeded. Seed com- 

 pressed, albumen fleshy ; embryo straight, cotyledons broad. — Distrib. 

 Europe, N. Asia, N. America ; species about 30. — Etym. doubtful. 



F. excelsior, L. ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate serrate, perianth 0. 



