CANELLACEAE. 281 



1. CLUSIA L. Sp. PI. 509. 1753. 



Evergreen trees or shrubs with resinous sap, often epiphytic or half- 

 climbing on other trees and sometimes strangling them, the leaves opposite, 

 entire, the usually polygamous, large flowers solitary or cymose. Sepals 4-16, 

 imbricated. Petals 4-9, also imbricated. Stamens many in the staminate 

 flowers, fewer in the pistillate ones; anthers linear. Pistillate flowers with 

 several or many staminodes; ovary 4-12-celled; stigmas sess-ile, radiating; 

 ovules many in each cavity. Capsule leathery or fleshy, at length dehiscent. 

 Seeds arillate, the embryo small, the cotyledons plano-convex. [Commemorates 

 Charles de I'Ecluse, a French botanist of the sixteenth century.] About 80 

 species, of tropical and subtropical America. Type species: Clusia major L. 



1. Clusia rosea Jacq. Enum. 34. 1760. 



A tree attaining a maximum height of about 16 m., the stout twigs 

 glabrous. Leaves obovate, glabrous, thick, coriaceous, rigid, 10-15 cm, long, 

 7-12 cm. wide above the middle, closely piunately many-veined, rounded at the 

 apex, cuneate at the base, the stout petioles about 1 cm. long; flowers solitary 

 or sometimes 2 together, short-peduncled; sepals 6, rounded, 1-1.5 cm. broad; 

 petals white or rose, broadly obovate or nearly orbicular, 3-4 cm. long, broadly 

 cuneate at the base; stigmas 7-9; fruit glcbose, nearly white, 5-8 em. in 

 diameter, fleshy. 



Coastal coppices, Andros, New Providence. Inagua and East Caicos : — Florida; 

 Cuba to Tortola, and to Trinidad ; Jamaica ; continental tropical America, Catesby, 

 2 : pi. 99. Pitch Apple. 



Clusia ffava Jacq., a tree similar to C. rosea, with cuneate-obovate leaves nnd 

 yellow flowers, is recorded by Schoepf, as seen by him on New Providence in 17S4. 



Family 4. CANELLACEAE IMart. 



Canella Family. 



Aromatic trees or shrubs, with alternate pinnately veined, coriaceous or 

 subcoriaceons, entire estipulate petioled leaves, and corymbose reunilar 

 perfect flowers. Sepals 3, distinct, imbricated. Petals 4-12, or wanting. 

 Stamens many, the filaments united into a tube, the anthers extrorse. 

 Ovary superior, 1-celIed, \vith 2-5 jDarietal placentae; ovules 2-severaI, 

 nearly anatropous; style stout; stigma 2-o-lobed. Fruit baccate. Seeds 

 with a smooth crusteaceous testa; embryo subcylindric, in copious fleshy 

 endosperm. Five genera and seven known species, of tropical America 

 and Africa. 



1. CANELLA P. Br. Hist. Jam, 275. 1756, 



An evergreen tree, glabrous throughout, with coriaceous loaves and term- 

 inal bracteolate corymbs of purple, red or violet flowers, the bark and leaves 

 pleasantly aromatic. Petals 5. Stamens 10-20, the filament-tube not ap- 

 pendaged by scales, the anthers contiguous, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary 

 with 2 or 3 parietal placentae each bearing 2 ovules; style short; stigma 2-3- 

 lobed. Berry globose, its gelatinous pulp enclosing few, obovoid to orbicular 

 seeds. [Latin, cinnamon.] A monotypic genus. 



19 



