Viscum.] LORANTHACE^. 355 



1. VIS'CUM, L. Mistletoe. 



Leaves opposite whorled or 0. Flowers dioecious, small, green, spiked 

 or clustered in the forks or internodes of the branches. Sepals 4, triangu- 

 lar. Anthers sessile, cells many, opening by pores. Stigma sessile. — 

 Distrib. Of the Order ; species^about 30. — Etym. Itfs, or Pi<tk6s, of 

 the Greeks. 



V. al'bum, L. ; leaves obovate-lanceolate obtuse 5-7-nerved. 

 On various trees, most rare on the oak, from York and Denbigh to Devon and 

 Kent; fl. March-May.— Shrub 1-4 ft., yellow green, glabrous; branches 

 terete, dichotomous, knotted. Leaves 1-3 in., opposite or in whorls of 3. 

 Flowers 3-nate, inconspicuous, green, 2-bracteate rarely monoecious. Berry 

 white, nearly \ in. diam., ovoid or globose, viscid. Embryos 1-3, green ; when 

 2, often united by the cotyledons. — Distrib. Europe, N. Asia. 



Order LXVII. SANTALA'CEffi. 



Herbs, shrubs, or trees, usually parasitic on roots. Leaves mostly 

 alternate, quite entire, exstipulate. Flowers 1 -2-sexual, small or minute, 

 solitary or cymose, 2-bracteolate. Calyx inferior or becoming adherent 

 to the ovary ; lobes 3-5, valvate in bud, often with a tuft of hairs on their 

 face. Stamens opposite and adnate to the calyx-lobes, filaments short ; 

 anthers fixed by the base or back. Disk epigynous, often dilated and 

 lobed. Ovary 1-celled ; style short, stigmas 1-5 ; ovules 2-5, reduced to 

 a naked nucleus pendulous from a basal erect column. Fruit indehiscent, 

 1-celled, 1 -seeded. Seeds adhering to the placenta, and often to the peri- 

 carp, albumen fleshy ; embryo straight axile, cotyledons plano-convex, 

 radicle superior. — Distrib. All regions ; genera 28 ; species 220. — Affi- 

 nities. With Loranthacece, Olacineai, and Corneas. — Properties unim- 

 portant, except the fragrant wood of Santalum. 



1. THE'SIUM, L. Bastard Toad-Flax. 



Slender, herbaceous, perennial root-parasites. Leaves alternate, narrow, 

 decurrent 1-3-nerved. Flowers minute, green, solitary and axillary or in 

 2-chotomous cymes, 2-sexual. Calyx-tube sbort or long, limb 5- rarely 4- 

 lobed, persistent ; lobes with a tuft of hairs on tbe face. Ovary inferior ; 

 style short, stigma capitate ; ovules 3. Fruit ribbed. — Distrib. Europe, 

 Asia, and Africa ; species about 100. — Etym. obscure. 



T. linophyl'lum, L. ; stems diffuse, leaves 1 -nerved, pedicels scabrid. 



T. humifu'sum, DC. ; T. divarica'tum, var. ang 'Ileum, A. DC. 



Dry chalky pastures, from Norfolk and Gloster to Cornwall and Sussex ; Chan- 

 nel Islands ; fl. May -July. — Rootstock woody, yellow ; roots fibrous, attached 

 to those of various plants. Stems many, 6-18 in., leafy, prostrate. Leaves 

 |-1| in., linear-lanceolate, acute or obtuse. Flowers J in. diam., racemed or 



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