AMYGDALACEAE. 153 



1. Kalanchoe brasiliensis Camb. in St. Hil. Fl. Bras. Mer. 2: 196. 1829. 



Herbaceous, perennial, 3-10 dm. high, glandular-pubescent above. Leaves 

 ovate to obovate, short-petioled, 5-10 cm. long, faintly pinnately veined, 

 crenate-dentate, or the upper pairs lanceolate, much smaller and entire; inflor- 

 escence 1-3 dm. long, cymose-paniculate, its branches nearly erect,' the bracts 

 very small; flowers yellow, 12-16 mm. long; sepals lanceolate, glandular-pubes- 

 cent, acute; corolla-tube 2-3 times as long as the calyx, the limb spreading; 

 stamens borne on the corolla-tube a little above the middle, not exserted; 

 follicles about 6 mm. long, the brown seeds oblong. 



Spontaneous after cultivation, pine-lands near Deep Creek, Andros : Natural- 

 ized in Cuba and in the Virgin Islands. Native of Brazil. BRAZILIAN KAI.ANCHOE. 



Family 2. AMYGDALACEAE Rchb. 

 PLUM FAMILY. 



Trees or shrubs, the bark exuding gum, the foliage, bark and seeds 

 often containing prussic acid, bitter. Leaves alternate, petioled, serrate, 

 the small stipules early deciduous, the teeth and petiole often glandular. 

 Flowers regular, mostly perfect. Calyx inferior, deciduous, free from the 

 ovary, 5-lobed. Disk annular. Calyx-lobes imbricated in the bud. Petals 

 5, inserted on the calyx. Stamens numerous, inserted with the petals. 

 Pistil 1 in our genera; ovary 1-celled, 2-ovuled; style simple; stigma 

 mostly small and capitate. Fruit a drupe. Seed 1, suspended; endosperm 

 none; cotyledons fleshy. About 10 genera and 120 species, widely dis- 

 tributed, most abundant in the north temperate zone. 



Style terminal. 1. Laurocerasus. 



Style basal or lateral. 2. Chrysobalanus. 



1. LAUROCERASUS Roem. Syn. Mon. 3: 89. 1847. 



Evergreen trees or shrubs, with coriaceous or subcoriaceous leaves and 

 small flowers in axillary racemes. Calyx 5-lobed, the lobes deciduous. Petals 

 5, white, deciduous. Stamens 15-30, the filaments slender. Ovary sessile; 

 ovules pendulous; style terminal. Drupe subglobose, 1-seeded, the flesh thin, 

 not pulpy. [Laurel-cherry.] About 20 species, of temperate and tropical 

 regions. Type species: Prunus Laurocerasus L. 



1. Laurocerasus myrtifolia (L.) Britton, N. A. Trees, 510. 1908. 



Celastrus myrtifolius L. Sp. PI. 196. 1753. 



Prunus sphaerocarpa Sw. Prodr. 80. 1788. * 



Prunus myrtifolia Urban, iSymb. Ant. 5 : 93. 1904. 



A tree attaining a maximum height of about 12 m. with a trunk up 

 to 4 dm. thick, the nearly smooth bark reddish brown. Leaves subcoriaceous, 

 elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 5-10 cm. long, acute, bluntish, or acuminate at the 

 apex, narrowed or obtuse at the base, glabrous, shining above, dull beneath, 

 entire-margined, the petioles about 1 cm. long ; racemes mostly shorter than the 

 leaves, rather densely flowered; pedicels 4-12 mm. long; calyx-lobes toothed; 

 petals broadly obovate, much longer than the calyx; stamens about as long as 

 the petals; drupes globose, 9-12 mm. in diameter, orange-brown. 



In coppices, Great Bahama and New Providence : Florida ; Cuba ; Hispanlola ; 

 Jamaica. WEST INDIAN LAUREL-CHERRY. 



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