138 STACHYURACEAE. 



Family STACHYURACEAE. 

 A small and unimportant family. 



STACHYURUS. 



Deciduous shrubs with slender rounded twigs ; relatively 

 large rather angular continuous pith ; alternate somewhat raised 

 crescent-shaped leaf-scars with 3 bundle-traces ; small stipule- 

 scars ; sessile round-ovoid buds with about 3 exposed scales; 

 rather large petioled leaves ; small polypetalous 4-merous 

 rounded flowers in axillary spikes ; and small berry-like fruit. 

 -Leaves ovate or lance-ovate, serrate. S. praecox. 



Family THYMELAEACEAE. Mezereon Family. 

 A small family of little importance apart from landscape 

 use; one species famed in Asia for its very fragrant flowers. 



DIRCA. Leatherwood. 



Small deciduous shrubs with terete very tough sympodial 

 twigs abruptly contracted at the end of each year's growth ; 

 somewhat angled homogeneous pale pith ; alternate raised horse- 

 shoe-shaped leaf-scars with about 5 bundle-traces ; no stipule 

 scars ; small solitary sessile round-conical buds nearly sur- 

 rounded by the leaf-scar ; very short-stalked simple entire 

 moderate leaves ; rather small yellowish perfect apetalous flowers 

 with corolla-like calyx in small clusters from the opening buds ; 

 and i-seeded fleshy fruit. 

 Leaves elliptical-obovate, glabrous. D. palustris. 



DAPHNE. Mezereon. 



Small sometimes evergreen shrubs with tough bark ; white 

 wood with sparse diffused minute ducts and very fine medullary 

 rays; rounded twigs; small round or 3-sided homogeneous pith; 

 alternate low small transversely elliptical leaf-scars with i 

 bundle-trace ; no stipule-scars ; sometimes superposed sessile 

 small round-conic buds with several exposed scales ; simple 

 entire small subsessile leaves ; small perfect apetalous flowers 

 with corolla-like calyx, in axillary clusters ; and i-seeded fleshy 

 fruit. 



