CORNACEJS. 83 



bearing externally 2 lateral bracteoles more or less adnate to recep- 

 tacle, and enclosing adnate germen. Perianth and disk 0. Germen 

 1 -celled (or very incompletely 2, 3 -celled) ; style branches 2, lateral 

 (rarely 3), slender, erect or recurved, longitudinally stigmatose 

 within. Ovules at top of parietal placentas solitary, descending ; 

 micropyle extrorsely superior; funicle more or less elongate and 

 dilated above micropyle to obturator. Fruit baccate, sparsely fleshy 

 or coriaceous, crowned with persistent styles. Seeds 1-3, descending; 

 external coat dilated to cellulose fleshy (coloured and tasty) aril; 

 albumen fleshy copious ; cotyledons of small apical embryo oblong ; 

 radicle superior terete. — Shrubs ; leaves (evergreen) opposite petio- 

 late exstipulate, entire-or denticulate, penninerved ; flowers in solitary 

 or 3-nate catkins; male catkins pendulous sericeous; bracts of catkin 

 decussate deeply connate in pairs; flowers solitary in axils of each 

 bract (Fadyenia) or cymose or glomerulate few, ebracteolate. (South- 

 icest, N. America, Cuba, Jamaica,) See p. 72. 



