White Ironwood 



667 



short and there are no stipules; the leaflets are nearly or quite smooth, oblong, 



elHptic or oblong-obovate, pointed, blunt or notched, entire-margined, 5 to 13 cm. 



long, dark green and shining on the 



upper side, Ughter green on the 



under; they are narrowed at the base 



and very short-stalked or stalkless. 



The small dioecious or polygamous 



flowers, which open in March or 



April, are in terminal and axillaiy 



stalked clusters; the flower-stalks 



and calyx are finely hairy; there are 



5 ovate, ver}' blunt persistent sepals 



about 3 mm. long, and 5 white 



ovate-oblong petals nearly of the 



same length; the stamens are 7 or 8 



in number, those of the staminate 



flowers about as long as the petals, 



those of pistillate flowers much shorter; the ovar}- is 2-celled, hair)', stalkless, the 



style very short, the knob-like stigma turned to one side. The fruit is a globular 



berry with a juicy orange-colored pulp, turning purple, 10 to 13 mm. in diameter, 



the seed yellow-brown. 



The heavy hard wood is red-brown, with a specific gravity of about c.95; it is 

 used in boat-building, for dock-piles, and for tool-handles. 



Fig. 619. Inkwood. 



III. WHITE IRONWOOD 



GENUS HYPELATE PATRICK BROWNE 

 Species Hypelate trifoliata Swartz 



HIS, the only kno\\Ti species of Hypelate, is an evergreen tree, occurring 

 on the Keys of southern Florida, in the Bahama islands, Porto Rico, 

 Cuba, and Jamaica, It attains a maximum height of about 13 meters 

 and a trunk diameter of about 5 dm. 

 The thin bark is smooth or nearly so. The young twigs are round, smooth, 

 slender and greenish, becoming gray. The leaves are composed of 3 leaflets, 

 borne on a narrowly margined stalk i to 5 cm. long; there are no stipules; the 

 leaflets are firm in texture, obovate or spatulate, entire-margined, blunt, somewhat 

 pointed or rarely notched, 2 to 4.5 cm. long, finely veined, bright green and shining 

 on the upper surface, paler and dull on the under side, both sides smooth. The 

 tree flowers in" May or June, the very small monoecious or polygamous flowers 

 borne in long-stalked loose terminal and axillar}' clusters; there are 5 ovate blunt 

 sepals, which are sHghtly hair}- and haiiy-f ringed, 5 nearly round white hair}'- 

 f ringed petals about 2 mm. long and about as long as the sepals; the stamens 



