LIGUSTRUM.] OLE ACE ^. 267 



ORDER XLVII. OLEA'CEJE. 



Shrubs or trees ; branches opposite ; buds scaly. Leaves opposite, 

 simple, or impari-pinnate, exstipulate. Flowers in 3-chotomous cymes, 

 small, white or greenish, 1-2-sexual ; pedicels opposite, 2-bracteolate. 

 Calyx inferior, 4-lobed or 0. Corolla hypogynous, regular, 4-partite, 

 deciduous, rarely 0, or of 4 free petals, Valvate in bud. Stamens 2, epipe- 

 talous or hypogynous. Disk 0. Ovary 2-celled ; style simple or 0, stigma 

 entire or 2-fid ; ovules 2 collateral in each cell, rarely 3 pendulous from 

 the septum, anatropous. Fruit 1-2-celled, cells 1- rarely 2-seeded. Seed 

 pendulous, testa sometimes winged, albumen fleshy or horny ; embryo 

 straight, cotyledons flat thin. DISTRIB. Trop. and temp, regions, chiefly 

 northern ; genera 18 ; species 280. AFFINITIES. With Jasminece. 

 PROPERTIES. Olea europcea yields oil in its drupe, a bitter bark, and hard 

 durable wood. The flowers of 0. fragrans used to scent China tea. Manna 

 is the produce of several Ashes. Ash bark is cathartic. 



Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-lobed. Fruit a berry 1. Ligustrum. 



Corolla (in the Brit, sp.) Fruit a samara 2 Fraxinus. 



1. IiIGUS'TRUM, Tournef. PRIVET. 



Shrubs, rarely small trees. Leaves often evergreen, quite entire. Flowers 

 in terminal thyrsoid cymes, honeyed, homogamous. Calyx shortly tubular, 

 4 -toothed, deciduous. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-lobed. Stamens 2, rarely 

 3, included in the corolla-tube. Ovary ovoid ; stigma 2-fid lobes obtuse ; 

 ovules 2 in each cell. Berry globose, 2-celled, cells 1-2-seeded, flesh oily. 

 Seeds ovoid or angled, albumen hard ; cotyledons ovate-lanceolate. 

 DISTRIB. Europe, N. Asia, especially Japan ; species about 25. ETYM. 

 ligare, to bind, from a use of the twigs. 



JL. vulga're, L. ; shrubby, leaves oblong-lanceolate quite entire. 

 Thickets in England, from Forfar and Lanark southd. ; (naturalized except in 

 chalk districts and coast cliffs, Wats.} ; wild in S. Ireland ; Channel Islands ; 

 fl. June-July. A glabrous bush, 4-10 ft., almost evergreen ; branches 

 slender, bark smooth. Leaves 1-2 in., shortly petioled, acute. Panicles 

 1-3 in. Corolla -| in. Berry \ in. diam., globose, purple-black. DISTRIB. 

 Europe, N. Africa. Berries yield a rose-dye and a bland oil used for cooking 

 in Germany. 



2. FRAX'INUS, Tournef. ASH. 



Deciduous trees. Leaves simple or pinnate, leaflets opposite with an 

 odd one, toothed or serrate. Flowers polygamous or dioecious. Calyx 4-fid 

 or 0. Petals 0, or 4 connate at the base. Stamens 2, hypogynous. Ovary 

 oblong ; stigma subsessile 2-fid ; ovules 2-3 in each cell. Fruit a com- 

 pressed 1-2-celled samara, winged at the tip, cells 1 -seeded. Seed com- 

 pressed, albumen fleshy ; embryo straight, cotyledons broad. DISTRIB. 

 Europe, N. Asia, N. America ; species about 30. ETYM. doubtful. 



F. excel'sior, L. ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate serrate, perianth 0. 



