JESSAMINE TRIBE GENTIAN TRIBE. 475 



children, who are attracted by its sweet taste. The leaves of the 

 common Ash are said to have similar properties ; and its bark, 

 which is bitter, has been substituted for Cinchona bark in fevers. 

 A remarkable fact respecting the Ash, which seems to show that 

 the secretions of its leaves are injurious to other plants, is, that 

 its drip, that is, the rain that drops from its branches, renders 

 the ground unproductive around it. 



649. Nearly allied to the Olive tribe is the small order 

 JASMINES or Jessamine tribe, a group of elegant and fragrant 

 trailing shrubs, which differs but little from the preceding order. 

 The divisions of the corolla are five or more instead of four ; and 

 the petals are imbricated, or fold over each other, before ex- 

 panding, instead of having their edges in contact as in Oleaceae. 

 Moreover, the seeds rise up from the bottom of the ovarium, 

 instead of hanging down from its summit. The Jasmines are 

 most abundant, and attain their greatest fragrancy in tropical 

 climates ; the species which is cultivated in this country is 

 not a native of Britain, but has been imported from the south of 

 Europe. 



650. The Order to be next adverted to is that of GENTIANEJE, 

 the Gentian tribe, which is distinguished by the vividness of the 

 colours of its flowers, and the extreme neatness of the aspect of 

 the foliage. This tribe may be known from all other Monope- 

 talous Exogens, by the structure of its leaves, which are opposite 

 each other on the stem, and have two, four, or more strong veins, 

 parallel with the midrib. The Gentians have a regular corolla, 

 formed, like the calyx, by the partial union of (most commonly) 

 five divisions ; it has somewhat of the plaited appearance, which 

 is observed in the Convolvulacese. The stamens are equal in 

 number to the segments of the corolla; the ovary is imperfectly 

 two-celled, containing a large number of seeds; the style is 

 single, but the stigma is two-lobed. The fruit ripens into a dry 

 capsule with two valves. The tribe is not a very extensive one ; 

 and the principal part of it is met with in South America. 

 There are some hardy species, which abound over the milder 

 and more elevated districts of Southern Europe and Asia; 

 covering the sides of hills with blossoms of such intense bril- 



