624 ORDEB 112. EUPHORBIACE^E. 



and berry-like, inclosing the 1-celled, 1-seeded achenium. Seed ascending, embryo 

 straight, albumen scanty. 



Genera 4, species 30, thinly dispersed throughout the Northern hemisphere. 



1. SHEPHER'DIA, Nutt. (In honor of John Shepherd, curator of 

 the botanic garden of Liverpool.) Flowers ? $. $ Calyx 4-cleft ; 

 sta. 8, alternating with 8 glands. $ Calyx tube closely investing the 

 ovary, but not adhering to it, limb 4-lobed ; sty. 1 ; stig. oblique ; 

 berry globous, composed of the fleshy calyx. Shrubs with spinescent 

 branches, and opposite, deciduous leaves. Fls. aggregated. 



1 S. Canadensis Nutt. Los. elliptic-ovate, nearly smooth above, clothed leneath 

 with stellate hairs and ferruginous, deciduous scales. A shrub G Sf high, found 

 in Vt, N. Y. and "W. to Wis. (Lapham), and Can., by streams and on river banks. 

 Leaves obtuse at each end, the upper surface green, with few, scattered, stellate 

 hairs, lower surface white, with rust-colored spots, densely tomentous, margin 

 entire; petioles 2 4" long, lamina 1 2' by \ 1'. Fls. minute, in small, late- 

 ral, nearly sessile clusters. Berries oval, scaly, consisting of the fleshy calyx in- 

 closing the achenia in its tube, sweetish to the taste. Jl. A curious and orna- 

 mental shrub. 



2 S. argent e a Nutt. Los. oblong-ovate, obtuse, loth surfaces smooth and 

 equally covered with silvery scales. A small tree, 12 18f high, with thorny 

 branches. Leaves 1 2' by 4 9". Petioles ' long, margin entire, the surface 

 of a light, silvery hue, sprinkled with rust-colored spots. Fruit the size of a cur- 

 rant, scarlet, well-flavored, f Mo. 



2. EL/EAG'NUS, L. OLEASTER. (Gr. ekaia, the olive ; the trees 

 having a resemblance to the olive.) Flowers perfect. Calyx 4-cleft, 

 campanulate, colored on the inner side ; sta. 4, alternate with the calyx 

 lobes ; anth. subsessile ; sty. short ; fruit baccate, consisting of the 

 achenium inclosed in the dry, farinaceous calyx. tube, marked with 8 

 furrows. Trees or shrubs, cultivated for the silvery foliage. Leaves 

 alternate. 



1 E. argentea Ph. Lvs. Irroad-ovate or oval, wavy, acutish at each end, both 

 surfaces, particularly the lower, silvery and shining, with ferruginous scales. A 

 beautiful shrub, with reddish branches and small, roundish-ovate, cartilaginous 

 drupes, f Mo. 



2 B. angustifolia L. Lvs. narrow-lanceolate, acute at each end, entire, al- 

 ternate, smooth, canescent; fls. axillary, aggregate. A tree of middle size, culti- 

 vated for its beautiful foliage and pleasant date-like fruit, f Eur. 



3 E. latifolia L. Lvs. ovate, evergreen, f E. Ind. 



3 HIPFOPH.2E rhamnoides, with linear-lanceolate Ivs., silvery white be- 

 neath, te.trandrous, dioecious flowers, and a crowd of yellow, acid drupes, is a Euro- 

 pean shrub, occasionally seen in shrubberies. 



ORDER CXII. EUPIIORBIACEJE. SPURGEWORTS. 



Herbs, shrubs or trees, usually with a milky, acrid juice. Flowers diclinous, some- 

 times enclosed in a cup-shaped involucre. Calyx inferior, sometimes wanting. Cor- 

 olla scale-like or colored, often wanting. Ovary free, sessile or stipitate, 2, 3 (or 

 more)-carpeled ; styles distinct or united. Fruit of 2, 3 (or more), 1 to 2-seeded car- 

 pels (rarely of 1 carpel) united to a common axi?, at length separating. Embryo 

 in fleshy albumen. Fig. 371. 



Genera 200, specie* 2500 (Lindley), chiefly natives of S. America, not more than CO species 

 being found in N. America, north of Mexico. 



Properties. An acrid, stimulant and poisonous principle, residing chiefly in the milky juice, 

 pervades the whole order. This principle varies in activity from mild stimulants to the most 

 uctive poisons ; but it is volatile and easily expelled bv heat. Tapioca is a starch-like accumu- 

 lation formed in the roots of the Jatropha Manihot. When fresh, :his root is a violent poison, 



