493 ORDEB 75. STYRACACE^E. 



but often abortive ; calyx 6-cleft ; corolla monapetalous, subrotate, 6- 

 parted ; stamens 6 (in the sterile flowers rarely fewer, in the fertile 

 rarely more) ; berry 6-seeded, seeds with a smooth, cartilaginous testa. 

 Shrubs with alternate Ivs., small white fls., and red or black 

 berries. 



Leaves deciduous, thin. Berries red Nos. 1, 2 



Leaves evergreen, thick, shining. Berries black Nos. 3, 4 



1 P. verticillatus L. BLACK ALDER. Lvs. lance-oval, serrate, acuminate, pu- 

 bescent beneath ; fls. axillary, the fertile ones aggregate, the barren subumbel- 

 late. This shrub is found in moist woods or swamps, Can. and most of the States, 

 usually growing about 8f liiglu Leaves narrowed at base into a short petiole, 

 uncinately serrate, with prominent, pubescent veins beneath. Flowers white, 

 dioecious, small, the pedicels scarce more than 1" in length. Berries scarlet, in 

 little bunches (apparently verticillate), roundish, 6-celled and 6-seeded, permanent 

 JL (P. Gronovii MX.) 



2 P. laevigatus Ph. Lvs. lanceolate, appressed-serrulate, glabrous on both sides, 

 shining above, minutely pubescent on the veins beneath ; fls. hexamerous, the 

 fertile axillary, subsessile, $ glomerate, on slender peduncles. Swamps and 

 marshes, K and Mid. States. Shrub 6 to 9f high, with grayish and warty 

 branches. Lvs. 2 to 3' by 8 to 12'', pointed at each end ; petioles 6 to 10" long. 

 Fls. mostly solitary, the sterile on pedicels 6" long, the fertile pedicels scarcely 

 '2' 1 . Berries large, red. Jn. 



/?. LANCEOLATUS. " Sterile fls. triandrous." PursJi. Dr. Hale sent specimens 

 from La. labelled P. lanceolatus. The Ivs. and berries accord well with our 

 specimens of No. 3, and also with Pursh's I. lanceolatus. The fruit is 6- 

 seeded. 



3 P. glaber L. IXK BERRY. Lvs. coriaceous, cuneate-lanceolate, glabrous, shin- 

 ing, serrate at the end. A beautiful shrub, 3 to 4f high, found in swamps, Mass., 

 E. I. to N. Y. and Car. Lvs. very smooth, leathery, shining, 1 to !' by 5 to 7", 

 broadest above tho middle. Pedicels subsolitary, 1 to 3-flowered. Fls. white, 

 mostly 6-parted. Berries roundish, black and shining. Jn., Jl. 



4 P. coriaceus Ph. Lvs. obovate, acute at base, short-acumfnate, sharply serrate 

 near the apex, very thick, shining above, minutely black-dotted beneath ; fls. 

 6 to 8-parted, sterile aggregated, fertile solitary ; berry black, with 6 to 8 smooth 

 seeds. A shrub 4 to 6f high, in wet woods, Savannah (Pond) to Bainbridge, Ga. 

 and Fla. Lvs. remarkably thick and leathery, about 2' long and 1' wide, with 2 

 to 4 niucronate, appressed teeth. Berries large, astringent ; seeds lens-shaped. 

 May. (P. atomarius Nutt.) 



ORDER LXXV. STYRACACE^E. 



Trees or shrubs with alternate, simple leaves, destitute of stipules. Fls. or ra- 

 cemes solitary, axillary, bracteate. Cal. 5-rarely 4-lobed, imbricated in estivation. 

 Cor. 5-rarely 4 or 6-lobed, imbricated in aestivation. Sta. definite or oo, unequal in 

 length, usually cohering. Anth. innate, 2 -celled. Ova. adherent, 2 5-celled, the 

 partitions sometimes hardly reaching the center. Ft: drupaceous, generally with 

 but one fertile cell. Sds. 5 1. 



Genera 6, (species 115, sparingly distributed through the tropical and subtropical regions of 

 both continents, only a few in colder latitudes. Storiix and Benzoin, two fragrant gum resins, 

 regarded as stimulant and expectorant, are the products of two species of Styrax, viz. of S. offici- 

 nale, a Syrian tree, and S. benzoin, native of Malay and the adjacent islands. 



TRIBES AND GENERA. 



I. SYMPLOCINEuE. Anthers numerous, innate, globular. Calyx 5-cleft. 



Flowers yellow SYMPLOCOS 1 



II. STYEACEJ3. Anthers 8 to 12, linear-oblong, adnate. Calyx mostly truncate. 



Flowers white (a). 



a Flowers pentamerous. Fruit wingless, 1-seeded STYBAX. 3 



a Flowers tetramerous. Fruit winded, - to 3-seeded HALBSIA. 3 



