XLVIII. OLEA CE.^. 



627 



and paler beneath, reticulately veined. Petioles short and curved, and, as 

 well as the branchlets, down}'. Leaf buds glabrous. Flowers qiiadrifid, 

 rarely quinquefid. Flowers pale yellow. (Don's Mill.) A low tree. United 

 States. Height 20 ft. to 30 ft. in the neighbourhood of London, but much 

 higher in the United States. Introd. in 1629. Flowers pale yellow; July. 

 Fruit yellow ; ripe about the time the tree drops its leaves in November. 



The persimon is readily distinguished from the European date plum, by 

 its leaves being nearly of the same shade of green on both surfaces ; while 

 those of the latter are of a dark purplish green above, and much paler, and 

 furnished with somewhat of a pinkish down, beneath. The leaves of the per- 

 simon vary from 4 in. to 6 in. in length ; and, when they drop off in the 

 autumn, they are often variegated with black spots. It is rather more tender 

 than the preceding species ; and, to thrive, requires a peaty or soft soil, kept 

 somewhat moist. 



If 3. D. (v.) pube'scens Pursk. The downy-leaved Virginian 

 Date Plum. 



Identification. Pursh F). Amer. Sept., 1. p. 265. ; Don's Mill., 4. p. 38. 



Synonyme. D. virgiiiiana var. Michx. Arb. For. 



Engraving. Ourfig. 1216., from a specimen in Dr. Lindley's herbarium. 



Spec. Char., <^c. Leaves oblong, acute, downy beneath. 

 Petioles long. Fruit few-seeded. (Don's Mill.) A low 

 tree. Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia. Height 20 ft. to 

 .soft. Introduced in 1812. Flowers pale yellow; July. 

 Horticultural Society's Garden. 



Other Kinds of hardy Tiiosjiyros. There are several names 

 in the catalogues of American nurserymen, and in 1836 

 there were plants corresponding to these names in the 

 Hort. Soc. Garden. These we have examined, and we are 

 perfectly satisfied that they are only slight variations of D. 

 virginiana, and, in short, that this is the only North American 

 species. D. lucida, D. intermedia, D. digyna, and D. 

 stricta are included in the above remarks. 



1216. D. (v.) pub&cms. 



Order XLVIII. OLEA^CE^. 



OrT). Chah. Flotuers hermaphrodite, sometimes dioecious^ Calyx divided, 

 permanent. Corolla 4-cleft ; sometimes 4-petaled. Petals connected by 

 pairs, rather valvate in aestivation ; sometimes wanting. Stamens 2, alter- 

 nating with the segments or petals. Anthers 2-celled ; cells dehiscing length- 

 wise. Ovarium simple, guarded by no glandular disk, 2-celled ; cells 2-seeded. 

 Ovules pendulous, collateral. Style simple or wanting. Stigma bifid or 

 undivided. Fruit drupaceous, baccate or capsular, often 1-seeded by abor- 

 tion. Seeds with dense copious albumen. Embryo middle-sized, longitudi- 

 nal, straight. Cotyledons foliaceous, half free. Radicle superior. Plumule 

 inconspicuous. Trees and shrubs, natives of both hemispheres, and for the 

 most part deciduous. (Don's Mill.) 



Leaves simple or compound, opposite, exstipulate, deciduous or evergreen ; 

 entire or serrated. Flowers racemose or panicled, terminal or axillary, with 

 opposite unibracteate pedicels. 



The Syringa supplies some of our most beautiful deciduous shrubs, and the 

 iigustrum and Phillyrea some useful evergreens. Some of these, as i^raxi- 

 nus, are timber trees. All the species are remarkable for the production of 

 numerous white fibrous roots, in dense masses, near the surface of the 



s s 2 



