xxxvin. CORNA N CE^E: CO'RNUS. 



501 



ORDER XXXVIII. CORNA V CE^E. 



ORD. CHAR. Calyx 4-lobed. Petals 4 ; aestivation valvate. Stamens 4. 

 Style filiform. Stigma simple. Drupe baccate, enclosing a 2-celled nut. 

 Seeds solitary in the cells. Albumen fleshy. Differs from Caprifoliaceae tribe 

 ambiiceae, in the polypetalous corolla and drupaceous fruit. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, opposite, rarely alternate, ex stipulate, deciduous, or 

 sub-evergreen ; ovate or oval, entire. Flowers white or yellowish. Shrubs 

 or low trees : natives of Europe and Asia. 



CO'RNUS L. Flowers in cymes. Stamens 4. Style 1 . Pome baccate. 



BENTHA^MT/Z Lindl. Flowers disposed in involucrated heads. Fruit con- 

 stituted of many pomes grown together. 



GENUS I. 



CO'RNUS L. THE DOGWOOD. Lin. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. 



Tourn. Inst., 641. t. 410. ; Dec. Prod., 4. p. 271. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 398. 

 Corniolo, Ital. 



Identification. 



Synonymes. Cornouiller, Fr. ; Hartriegel, Ger. , ^^nnu/iu, ^m... 



Derivation, From cornu, a horn ; the wood being thought to be as hard and as durable as horn. 

 Hartriegel signifies hard rail, or hard wood. The name of Dogwood is applied to this genus, 

 because, as Parkinson says, in his Paradisus, the fruit of most of the species is not fit even for 

 dogs ; but it is more likely to have been given to it from the astringent properties of the bark and 

 leaves, a decoction of which was formerly used as a wash for curing the mange, c., in dogs. 



Gen. Char. Calyx tube adhering to the ovarium ; limb small, 4-toothed. 

 Petals 4, oblong, sessile, valvate in aestivation. Stamens 4. Style 1. Drupe 

 baccate, marked by the vestiges of the calyx, containing a 2-celied, rarely 



' 



3-celled nucleus. Seeds solitary, pendulous. (Don's 



Leaves simple, opposite, except in C. alternifolia, exstipulate, deciduous ; 

 entire, feather-nerved. Flowers sometimes capitate and umbellate, involu- 

 crated; sometimes corymbose and panicled, without involucra. Petals 

 white, rarely yellow. Trees under the middle size, and shrubs, deciduous; 

 natives of Europe, Asia, and North America. 



Most of the species ripen their fruit in England ; but they are usually pro- 

 pagated by suckers, or by layers or cuttings. The wood of all the species 

 makes the very best charcoal. Common soil, and most of the species will 

 thrive in the shade of other trees. 



i. Nudiflbrce Dec. 



Derivation. From nudus, naked, and flos, a flower ; the inflores- 

 cence being without an involucre. 



Sect. Char. Flowers corymbose or panicled, without 

 an involucre. 



A. Leaves alternate. 



* t l.C. ALTERNIFO V LIA L. The alternate-leaved 

 Dogwood. 



Identification. Lin. fil. Suppl., p. 125. ; L'Herit. Corn., No. 11. ; 



Don's Mill., 3. p. 398. 

 Synonyme. C- alterna Marsh. 

 Engravings. Guimp. Abb. Holz., t. 43. ; Schmidt Baum., 2. t. 70. ; 



and our fig. 912. 



Spec. Char. y Sfc. Leaves alternate, ovate, acute, 

 hoary beneath. Corymbs depressed, spreading. 

 Branches warted. Pomes purple, globose, about 

 the size of a grain of pepper. Leaves on long 

 petioles. Branches green or reddish brown. (Don' 



K K 3 



912. C. aJternif61ia. 



