27-1 



COKNACE-K. Coniu.'i. 



OuDEii XJ.VII. CORNACE^. 



' Trees or sluubs, rarely herbs, with simple and entire mainly opposite leaves, no 



stipules, and llowers in cymes (or cajjitate clusters) or si)ike3 ; the valvate petals and 



stamens 4 and epigynous in fertile llowers (the former sometunes wanting) ; calyx 



adnate to the 1 - 2-celled ovary, which becomes a 1 - 2-seeded drupe or berry in 



fruit. Seed suspended, anatropous, Avith a minute embryo in hard albumen. 



An order of a ilozmi j^ciu-ni ami less than a bundreil species, widely distributed, but iiuiiidy iu 

 tlie teuiiieiate regions of I be iiortbein beinispliero ; most relateil to tlie iirst tribe of ('<i/tri/()lin(t<c, 

 but witb (hstinet jietals viilvate in tlie bud. Many are cultivated lor oinanient. Tlie burk of 

 (Jonius is bitter, and has been used as a substitute for Cinchona. 



1. Cornus. Flowers peilect, iu cymes or a head-like cluster. Petals 4. Stylo 1 ; stigma ter- 



minal. Ovary '2-celled. 



2. Garrya. Flowers dieeeious, in eatkin-like sjiikes. Petals none. Styles 2, stigmatic down 



tbe inner side. Ovary 1 -celled, 2-ovuled. 



1. CORNUS, Linn. Dogwood. Coknel. 



Flowers perfect. Calyx minutely 4-tuothed. Petals 4, oblong or ovate, valvate 

 in the bud. Stamens 4, with slender lilaments. Style blender : stigma capitate (ir 

 truncate. Drupe ovoid or oblong, with a 2-celled 2-seeded stone. C'otyledons I'uli- 

 aceous. — Shrubs or perennial herbs, rarely arborescent ; leaves ojjposite, entire ; 

 flowers small, in dichotomous cymes or involucrate heads, white, yellowish or 

 greenish. 



Mostly of the northern bemisiibere, a single sjieeies growing in Peru ; about 25 species, of 

 which 15 are found in the United States. 



* Flowerx (/reeiilsh, in a dose cyme or head, surrounded by a couKjiicuous involucre of 



\ to white petal-like bracts : fruit red. 



1. C, CauadenBis, Linn. Stem .simph*, herbaceou.s, 3 to 8 inches high, from a 

 slender creeping subterranean rootstock : leaves mostly in an apjjarent whorl of G at 

 the summit, slightly pubescent with a2)pressed hairs, nearly sessile, ovate to oblong, 

 acute at each end, 1 to 2^ inches long; in the middle of the stem a pair of smaller 

 leaves, and scale-like bracts below : ))eduncle about an inch long: involucral bracts 

 4, ovate, 4 to 8 lines long : ovary silky : fruit globular, 2 lines in diameter. 



Mendocino County (JSuhindcr), in swamps ; north to Sitka and across the continent. 



2. C. Nuttallii, Audubon. Usually a small tree, sometimes becoming 50 to 70 

 feet high : bark suiootli : haves more or less pubescent, obovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 

 acute at each end: involucre of 4 to G obovate to oblong bracts, lA to .*} inches 

 long, abruptly acute to acuminate, yidlowish or white, often tinged with red : llow- 

 ei-s numerous, in »lens(i heads to 9 lines broad : fruit crowded among the large 

 abortive ovaries, 5 to G lines long, crowned by the \mnu\ limb of the calyx. — iS'ut- 

 tall, Sylva, iii. 51, t. Il7 ; Newberry, Pacif. Jv. lie)), vi. 24. 



From Monterey and Mcuidoeino to Plumas counties, and noitbward to Fiaser Pi\er. A showy 

 tree, or large shrub, llowering in May, the flowers followed by largo clusters of crimson beirics. 

 Much resembliii}' the eastern C. Jlorida, and ai)paiently even more worthy of cultivation. Wood 

 close-grained and very hard. 



* * Flowers yellowish, in sessile und>els, ajijjearin;/ before the leaves, involucrate with 



4 small caducous, bracts. 



3. C. sessilis, Ton-. A shrub, 10 to 15 feet liigh, with green bark : leaves 

 approximate, ovate, .-sliortly acuminate, pahi beneatli and a])pressed silky pubescent : 

 umbel terminal, l)ec(uning hib'ial liy the development of the shoot ; pedicels niinu'r- 



