116 SAPINDACE>«. (soapberry FAMILY.) 



\l. CELASTRUS, L. Stafftkee. SiiRrnnv Bitter-sweet. 



I Flowers ])()ly;;aiiio-(li(i'(ious. Petals (crenulate) and stamens 5, inserted on 

 the margin of a eiip-sluipcd disk which lines the base of the calyx. I'od glo- 

 lx)se (oranjie-eolor and berry-like), 3-eclled, 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds I or 2 

 in each cell, erect, enclosed in a pulpy scarlet aril. — Leaves alternate. Flowers 

 small, greenish, in raceme-like clusters terminating the branches. (An ancient 

 Greek name for some evergreen, which our plant is not.) 



1. C. scandens, L. (Wax-wouk. Climuing Bitter-swef.t ) Twin- 

 ing shrub; ICaves ovatc-oblong, finely serrate, pointed. — Along streams and 

 thickets. June. — The opening orange-colored pods, displaying the scarlet 

 covering of the seeds, are very ornamental in autumn. 



2. EU6nYMUS, Tourn. Spindle-tree. 



Flowers perfect. Sepals 4 or 5, united at the base, forming a short and flat 

 calyx. Petals 4-5, rounded, spreading. Stamens very short inserted on the 

 edge or face of a broad and flat 4-5-angled disk, which coheres with the calyx 

 and is stretched over the ovary, adhering to it more or less. Style short 

 or none. Pod 3 - 5-lobed, 3 - 5-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 1 - 4 in each cell, 

 enclosed in a red aril. — Shrubs, with 4-sided branchlets, opposite serrate 

 leaves, and loose cymes of small flowers on axillary peduncles. (Derivation 

 from ev. good, and ovofia, name, because it has the bad reputation of poisoning 

 cattle. Tourn.) 



1. E. atropurpureus, Jacq. (Burxing-Bush. Waahoo.) Shrub 

 tall |6°-14° high) and upright; leaves petioled, oval-oblong, pointed; parts of 

 the (dark-purple) flower commonly in fours; /Ws smooth, deeply lobed. — 'Kcvf 

 York to Wisconsin and southward: also cultivated. June. — Ornamental in 

 autumn, by its copious crimson fruit, drooping on long peduncles. 



2. E. Americanus, L. (Strawberry Bish.) Shrub low, upright or 

 straggling (2° - 5° high) ; leaves almost si'ssile, titicktsh, bright green, varying 

 from ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute or pointed ; parts of the greenish-purple 

 flowers mostly in fives ; pods roiirjh-ivarti/, depressed, crimson when ripe ; the 

 aril scarlet. — Wooded river-banks, S. and W. Kew York to Illinois and south- 

 ward. June. 



Var. obovatus, Torr. & Gray. Trailing, with rooting branches ; flower- 

 ing stems lo-2° high ; leaves thin and dull, obovate or oblong. (E. obovatus, 

 Nutt.) — Low or wet places : the commoner form. 



Ordkr 30. SAPIXDACE^. (Soapberry Family.) 



Trees, shriihs, tcith shnple or compound leaves, moslli/ imsymmetrical and 

 often irregular floxoers ; the 4-5 sepals and petals both imhricated in a:sti- 

 vation: the 5-10 stamens inserted on a fleshy (perigi/nous or /ii/pof/i/nons) 

 disk; a 2-3-celled and lohed ovary, tcith 1-2 (or rarely more) ovules in 

 each cell; and the embryo (except Staphylea) curved or convolute, without 

 albumen. — A large and diverse order, the true Sapindaceae principally 

 tropical, here represented only by the Buckeyes. 



