CELASTRUS. XLV. CELASTRACE^E. 215 



ORDER XLIY. SAPINDACE^E. SOAPWORTS. 



Trees, shrubs or herbs, the latter furnished with tendrils. 



Lvs alternate, usually compound and without stipules. 



Fls. small, usually polygamous. Sep. 45, distinct, imbricated in aestivation. 



jCar Petals as many as the sepals, sometimes l less, (or rarely wanting,) inserted outside the hypogy- 



Std'. 8 or 10 ; Jil. distinct ; anth. introrse. [nous disk which lies at the bottom of the calyx. 



Ova. of 3 united carpels ; sty. partly or completely united. . 



Fr. a 3-celled capsule or samara, or often fleshy and mdehiscent. 



Sds. 13 in each cell, usually arilled, without albumen. 



CARDIOSPERMUM. 



Gr. KapSia, heart, o-rrcp/xa, seed; the globose seeds marked with a large, cordate hilum. 



Sepals 4, the 2 outer smallest ; petals 4, each with an emarginate 

 scale above the base ; the 2 lower remote from the stamens, their 

 scales crested ; glands of the disk 2, opposite the lower petals ; sta- 

 mens 8, unequal ; style trifid ; capsule membranous, inflated. Climb- 

 ing herbs with biternate leaves. Lower pair of pedicels changed to tendrils. 



C. HALIACABUM. Heart-seed. Balloon-vine. 



Plant nearly glabrous ; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, incisely lobed and den- 

 tate ; fruit pyriform-globose, large, bladder-like. Native on the Missouri and 

 its branches. Torr. $ Gr. Naturalized in the W. States. Mead. A curious 

 vine, 4 6f in length, with remarkably large, inflated, membranous capsules. Jl. f 



ORDER XLV. CELASTRACEJE. STAFF-TREES. 



Shrubs, or rarely trees, with opposite or alternate leaves. Fls. not always perfect. 



Cal. Sepals 45, united at base, imbricated. [which surrounds the ovary. 



Cor. Petals as many as sepals, inserted by a broad base under the margin of the flat, expanded disk 



Sta. as many as the petals and alternate with them, inserted on the margin of the disk. 



Ova. superior, immersed in and adhering to the disk. 



Fr. a capsule or berry. Seeds either with or without an arillus. 



Genera 27, species 274, chiefly native of the temperate zone of both hemispheres. They possess acrid 

 and bitter properties, sometimes emetic and stimulant. 



Genera. 



$ compound (ternate) Staphylea. 1 



< opposite, ( simple Euonymus. 3 



Shrubs with leaves fc alternate, simple Celastrtis. Z 



TRIBE 1. STAPHYL.EJE. 



Leaves pinnate, opposite. Seeds not ariled. Cotyledons thick. 



1. STAPHYLEA. 



A Greek word, meaning a cluster of grapes ; from the form of the fructification. 



Fls. ; calyx of 5, colored, persistent sepals : petals and stamens 

 5 ; styles 3 ; capsules 2 3, membranous and inflated. 



S. TRIFOLIA. Bladder-nut. 



Lvs. ternate ; roc. pendulous ; pet. ciliate below ; jr. ovate. A handsome 

 shrub, 6 8f high, in moist woods and thickets. Can. to Car. and Tenn. Leaf- 

 lets oval-acuminate, serrate, pale beneath, with scattered hairs. Flowers white, 

 in a short, drooping raceme. The most remarkable feature of the plant is its 

 large, inflated capsules, which are 3-sided, 3-parted at top, 3-celled, containing 

 several hard, small nuts or seeds, with a bony, smooth and polished testa. May. 



TRIBE 2. EUOXYME&J. 



Leaves simple. Seeds usually ariled. Cotyledons leafy. 



2. CELASTRUS. 



Flowers sometimes polygamous ; calyx flat, of 5 united sepals ; co- 

 rolla spreading, of 5 sessile petals ; capsule subglobose, or 3-angled, 

 3-celled; seeds with an arillus, 1 2 in each cell. Climbing shrubs, 

 with deciduous leaves^ and minute, deciduous stipules. 



C. SCANDENS. Staff-tree. 



Unarmed; st. woody, twining; Ivs. oblong, acuminate, serrate; rac. ter- 



