OLEACE^E 155 



A. parviflora Hoffm. et Lk. = var. micrantha G. G. This may be 

 only a small-flowered variety of the common Pimpernel. Corolla only 4-6 

 mm., about equal to the calyx, wheel-shaped, blue or rose. Leaves ovate, often 

 erect, rounded and clasping at the base. 



Damp, sandy places near the sea, as e.g. below Hyeres. May-July. 



A. tenella L. Bog Pimpernel. A small, slender, creeping species, a few 

 inches long, with small, sub-orbicular, opposite leaves. Flowers pale pink, very 

 elegant, on long slender peduncles. Corolla campanulate, of delicate texture and 

 deeply 5-cleft. Stamens with woolly filaments. 



Wet, spongy ground and borders of streams from the coast to about 700 m., 

 local. May-July. 



SAMOLUS L. 



S. Valerandi L. Brookweed. A glabrous, bright green plant, 3-10 in. high, 

 with obovate spreading root-leaves. Stem slightly branched, with a few oblong 

 leaves and loose racemes of small white flowers. Pedicels rather long, with a 

 green bract above the middle. Capsule small, globular. Calyx-teeth short and 

 broad. 



Damp places, marshes near the sea, etc., common on the littoral and on the 

 lower mountain region. May-August. Perhaps few flowering plants have 

 been seen by the writer in such a variety of habitats as this, but the plant is 

 widely diffused throughout the world. Near Beau Rivage in the Var it grows 

 on the low sea cliffs where fresh water sometimes trickles on to the beach below. 

 In the Alps and Pyrenees we have seen it on damp rocks at considerable elevation. 



STYRACACE.E. 

 STY RAX L. 



S. officinalis L. An ornamental shrub or small tree, 6-24 ft. high. Leaves 

 alternate, deciduous, petioled, ovate obtuse entire, green and glabrescent above, 

 white tomentose beneath. Flowers creamy-white, 3-6 in little corymbs. Calyx 

 tomentose, truncate and almost entire or with 5 little teeth. Corolla large, cam- 

 panulate, with very short tube and 5-7 lanceolate lobes. About 12 stamens in- 

 serted at base of corolla. Fruit leathery or fleshy, ovoid, cotton-felted. 



Woods and hill-sides in Southern Var where it reaches its Western limit in 

 Europe. April-May. Good specimens of this interesting plant can be seen on 

 the lower slopes of Coudon and in the neighbouring district of Sollies-Toucas, 

 La Farlede, etc. There is a tree on the road-side which mounts from Sollies Pont 

 to the picturesque old hill-town of Sollies- Ville. All these villages are worth 

 visiting for their architectural beauty. 



OLEACE;E. 



Corolla funnel-shaped, 5-lobed, stamens inserted. Fruit 2-celled JASMINUM. 



Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-lobed, stamens inserted on throat LIGUSTRUM. 



Corolla-tube short, stamens exserted. Fruit a fleshy drupe, with hard stone. 



OLEA. 



Corolla-tube short, stamens inserted at base of corolla. Fruit a soft drupe 

 with no stone PHILLVREA. 



JASMINUM L. 



J. fruticans L., Yellow Jasmine (Plate XXI). An under-shrub of 1-4 ft 

 Leaves alternate, petioled, simple, dark green, shining, or more often with 

 3 oblong, obtuse leaflets on a short stalk. Flowers yellow, scented, shortly 

 peduncled, 1-4 at the top of the branches. Berry globular, black and shining. 



Road-side, hedges, and fields and wooded slopes throughout the littoral of 

 the Var and here and there as far as the Italian frontier. April-May. 



J. officinale L. The sweet-scented white Jasmine, so often cultivated, is 

 a native of Persia and India, but it is occasionally found subspontaneous in rocks 

 and hedges. 



