EUPHORBIACEJE. 



very minute. <. Calyx 5-parted; divisions tapering, withering. 

 Petals 5, very minute, lanceolate. Disk saucer-shaped. Stamens ad- 

 hering to a columnar abortive pistil, from which, near the apex, there 

 issue 5 ascending filaments. Anthers oblong, erect. $ . Calyx 

 and corolla as in the male. Disk cup-formed, closely embracing half 

 the ovary, slightly notched at the edge. Styles 3, each 2-cleft ; stigmas 

 simple. Capsule somewhat 3-lobed, smooth, very hard, 3-celled, 

 6-valved, the size of a nutmeg. Seeds solitary, round, smooth, of the 

 sizeof a pea. Rind of the capsule reputed to be exceedingly poisonous. 



BRIEDELIA. 



Flowers monoecious. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5, minute. $ . 

 Stamens 5, united into the stalk of an abortive pistil seated upon 

 a disk lining the base of the calyx. ? . Styles 3, bifid. Ovary 

 surrounded by a 5-cleft tube. Fruit fleshy, 2-celled, 2-4-seeded. 

 A. de J. 



358. B. spinosa Willd. sp. pi. iv. 979. Roxb.fi. ind. iii. 735. 



Cluytia spinosa Roxb. corom. ii. 38. t. 172. Circar moun- 

 tains of India and various parts of Bengal. 



Trunk straight. Branches numerous, spreading. Thorns a few 

 over the larger branches, large and strong. Leaves alternate, oblong, 

 pointed, entire, firm, smooth, strongly veined, about 5 inches long, and 

 2^ broad. Spikes axillary or terminal, clustered; flowers in inter- 

 rupted parcels, small, greenish yellow, male and female mixed. <$. 

 Calyx 5-parted, withering. Petals 5, minute, orbicular, crenulate. 

 Disk double, the exterior saucer-shaped; the interior cup-shaped, 

 sitting on the exterior, and divided to near the base, into 5 segments ; 

 divisions narrowing towards the point, with the extremities 3-toothed. 

 Filaments 5, inserted into an erect column. Calyx and 

 corolla as in the male. Disk surrounding the ovary entirely, and 

 leaving only a small opening for the styles to pass through, and there 

 5-toothed. Styles 2, bifid. Stigmas simple. Berry globular, of the 

 size of a pea, succulent, black. Seeds 2. Bark a powerful astringent. 

 Leaves eaten by cattle ; said to destroy worms in their bowels. Roxb* 



CROZOPHORA. 



Flowers monoecious. $ . Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 

 5-10, with unequal connate filaments. ? . Calyx 10-parted. Petals 

 0, styles 3, bifid. Capsule 3-coccous. A. de J. 



359. C. tinctoria A. Juss. Euphorb. 27. Neesgen.pl. eur. c. ic. 



Croton tinctorium Linn. sp. pi. 1 425. Basin of the Medi- 

 terranean. 



A small hoary annual, all covered with stellate hairs. Leaves ovate- 

 rhomboidal, repand, toothed, plaited and curled at the edges, tapering 

 gradually to a stalk which is nearly as long as themselves. Flowers 

 monoecious, in axillary racemes, the upper male, the lower female 

 Maes subsessile, crowded, erect. Calyx 5-parted, conical, smooth 

 inside. Stamens 5 or more, united in a column. Females on long, 

 drooping 1-3-flowered stalks. Calyx 10-parted, spreading, with 



178 



