652 



PART III. THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 



by insects to the stigmata: ovules numerous, attached to the 

 ventral suture : seed usually without endosperm. Generally woody 

 plants, often climbers, with milky latex. 



Asclepias syriaca and other species are grown in gardens. Stapelia has a 

 fleshy cactus-like stem. Hot/a carnosa, the Wax flower, Periploca grccca and 

 Ceropegia Gardner i, are cultivated climbing plants with twining stems. Dis* 

 chidia is a genus of epiphytic pitcher-plants. 



Order 5. OLEACE^B. Calyx and corolla usually 4-merous, some- 

 times wanting ; stamens and carpels two, alternate : ovary bilo- 

 cular : ovules 2 in each loculus : fruit a capsule, a berry, a drupe, 

 or a samara: seeds 1-4, usually with endosperm: stem woody: 

 leaves always decussate. 



Sub-order 1. OLEIN^. Fruit a berry or a drupe : seed suspended. 



FIG. 453. A Flower of Froaunws Ornus (enlarged): fc calyx; c corolla; st stamens; 

 / ovary; n stigma. B $ -flower of Fraxinus excelsior, the common Ash; an anthers; 

 /ovary ; n stigma (enlarged). Floral diagram of the Oleacese. 



Ligustrum has a baccate fruit ; L. vulgare, the Privet, is a common shrub. 

 Olea has a drupaceous fruit ; O. eurbpcea is the Olive-tree of the East and of 

 Southern Europe. Phillyrea, Osmanthus, and Chionanthus, are cultivated as 

 ornamental shrubs. 



Sub -order 2. FRAXINE.E. Fruit a samara: seed suspended. 



The genus Fraxinus has a winged fruit ; in F. excelsior, the common Ash, the 

 perianth is suppr ssed and the flowers are polygamous ; in F. Ornus, the Manna- 

 Ash of Southern Europe, the perianth is complete, and the corolla is deeply 

 cleft (Fig. 453 A). 



Sub -order 3. SYRINGED. Fruit a loculicidal capsule : seed suspended. The 

 genus Syringa has a tubular corolla with a 4-lobed limb ; S. vulgaris is the Lilac : 

 Forsythia is a well-known shrub, having numerous seeds. 



Sub-order 4. JASMINES. Fruit a constricted capsule or berry : ovules 

 ascending: seeds exalbuminous : calyx and corolla often 5-10-merous (see 

 Fig 320). 



