Marlberry 



769 



lobes hairy-fringed; corolla wheel-shaped, i cm. across, the 5, rarely 4 or 6 lobes, 

 oblong to obovate, blunt, reflexed, and marked by j)urplish lines and dots; the 

 stamens are of the same number as the lobes of the corolla and inserted at the top 

 of its tube; filaments ver}' short and broad; anthers orange -colored, longer than 

 the filaments; the ovary is globose, gradually contracted into a long, slender style, 

 capped with a simple, disk-Hke stigma. The fruit, ripening in spring, is a de- 

 pressed globose, dr\'ish berry 7 to 9 mm. in diameter, subtended b}- the persistent 

 calyx and tipped by the base of the style, becoming black and shining when fully 



Fig. 701. Marlberry. 



ripe; seed soHtary, depressed, somewhat kidney-shaped, 3 mm. long, punctate and 

 reddish brown. 



The wood is hard, ver\^ dense, brown, marked by darker bands; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.86. 



The genus comprises about 200 species, mostly tropical shrubs and trees, of 

 both hemispheres. Some of them are said to produce edible fruits, but otherwise 

 they are of no economic importance. The name was used by the natives of 

 Guiana for the type species, Icacorea guianensis Aublet. 



