THE CYRILLA FAMILY 



CYRILLACEiE Lindley 



jjYRILLACE^, a very small family, contains only 3 genera, of which 

 but 6 species are known. They are small trees or shrubs usually 

 growing in wet or swampy situations and occur, as far as is known, 

 only in America. They are of no economic importance. 

 The CyrillacecE have alternate, simple, entire, rather persistent leaves that 

 are mostly crowded near the ends of the twigs and are without stipules. The 

 flowers are perfect and regular, in bracted racemes. Their calyx consists of 

 usually 5, sometimes 4 to 8, persistent sepals; corolla of the same number of petals, 

 distinct or sHghtly united, sessile or with short claws; stamens 4 to 10, in one or 

 two series, the shortest being opposite the petals; filaments distinct and flattened; 

 anthers introrse, 2-celled and opening lengthwise; disk annular, cup-Hke or cylin- 

 dric; ovary 2-celled to 5-celled, and angular; ovules i to 4 in each cavity; style 

 usually none or short; stigma 2-lobed to 5-lobed, usually small. The fruit is 

 small, crustaceous or spongy, dehiscent or indehiscent, sometimes winged; the i 

 to 5 seeds are oblong or spindle-shaped, their coating smooth or soft, mucous- 

 like and merging into the fleshy endosperm; embryo cyUndric. Our genera arc: 



Inflorescence lateral; sepals 5, equal; fruit wingless and dehiscent. i. Cyrilla. 



Inflorescence terminal; sepals 5 to 8; fruit winged and indehiscent. 2. Cliftonia. 



LEATHER-WOOD 



GENUS CYRILLA [GARDEN] LINN^US 

 Species Csnilla racemiflora Linnaeus 



]YRILLA includes three closely related species, natives of warm-tem- 

 perate and tropical America. It is the type of a small family of 

 trees and shrubs, and takes its name in honor of Domcnico Cirillo, 

 Itahan naturaHst (1734-1799). The Leather- wood, which is the 

 generic type, grows in sandy soil, mostly in swamps and along streams, from Vir- 

 ginia to Florida, westward, near the Gulf of Mexico, to Texas. It attains a maxi- 

 mum height of about 10 meters, with a trunk 3 dm. in thickness, but is usually 

 much smaller, and often a shrub. Its branches spread widely. The plant is also 

 known as Iron-wood, Bumwood, Red titi and White titi. 



The very thin bark is pale brown, breaking up into large scales. The young 

 twigs are smooth and round, red-brown to gray, the buds pointed. The simple 



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