EMPBTRUM. CXXI1. EMPETRACE^B. 489 



spikelets ; sty. 6, twice bifid ; staminate fls. capitate, crowded. Grows in 

 sandy prairies, 111. to the sources of the Missouri. 



2. C. ELLiPTicrjM. Nutt. (Crotonopsis elliptica. Willd.} 



Plant clothed with a stellate pubescence ; Ivs. elliptical-ovate, the older 

 ones obtuse at apex, smoothish arid green on the upper surface ; fls. glomerate ; 

 sty. 3, bifid ; caps, angular, 2-seeded. (J) 111. Mead, and Mo. 



3. C. GLANDULOSTJM. 



St. trichotomous ; Ivs. oblong, serrate, hairy beneath, nearly entire, and 

 bearing 2 glands at the base ; spikes of flowers situated in the division of the 

 stem. 111. (Mead}, river bottoms. 



6. PHYLLANTHUS. 



Gr. QvXhov, ai>$os ; the leaves of the original species bear flowers at the edges. 



Flowers c? . c? Calyx persistent, with 6 spreading, colored seg- 

 ments ; stamens 3, very short, filaments united at base, anthers didy- 

 mous. 9 Calyx as in the cT ; styles 3, bifid ; capsule 3-celled j 

 cells 2-valved, 1 2-seeded. Herbs or shrubs with alternate, stipulate 

 leaves and minute, axillary flowers. 



P. CAROLINENSIS. Walt. (P. obovatus. WlUd.) 



St. erect, herbaceous, with alternate branches ; Ivs. simple, entire, gla- 

 brous, oval and obovate, obtuse, slightly petioled ; fls. few, subsolitary, axillary. 

 (D A small-leaved, delicate plant, Penn. ! to 111. ! Stem 6 10' high, slender, 

 the branches filiform. Leaves of the stem 6 8" by 4 5", of the branches 

 twice, and of the branchlets four times smaller. Flowers 1 3 in each axil, 

 the ^ with the 9, I" diam., whitish. July, Aug. 



7. BUXUS. 



The Greek name of this plant was Qvo j. 



Flowers <? . c? Calyx 3-leaved ; petals 2 ; sta. 4, with the rudiment 

 of an ovary. 9 Cal. 4-sepaled ; pet. 3 ; sty. 3 ; caps, with 3 beaks 

 and 3 cells ; seeds 2. Shrubs. Lvs. evergreen, opposite. 



B, sEMPERVlRENs. Box. L/os. ovate ; v petioles hairy at edge; anth. ovate, 

 saggittate. Var. angustifolia has narrow, lanceolate leaves. Var. suffruticosa. 

 me dwarf box has obovate leaves and a stem scarcely woody, highly esteemed 

 for edgings in gardens. The box with its varieties is native of Europe. 



ORBER CXXII. EMPETRACEJE. CROWBERRIES. 



Shrubs small, evergreen, heath-like, with exstipulate leaves and minute, axillary flowers. 



Fls. dioecious. Cal. consisting of hypogynous, imbricated scales. 



Sta. equal in number to the inner sepals and alternate with them. 



Ova. 3 9-celled, with a single erect ovule in each cell. 



Styles short or 0. Stigmas Iqbed and often lacerated. 



Fr. Drupe seated in the persistent calyx, containing 39 bony nucules. 



Sds. solitary, ascending, albuminous. Radicle inferior. 



Genera 4, species 4, natives of Europe, North America and the Straits of Magellan. They are acrid. 

 The berries are used for food in Greenland. 



Genera. 



( 6 9-seeded. Empetrum. I 

 Drupe ( 3-seeded. Oakesia. 2 



1. EMPETRUM. 



Gr. cv, upon, trerpos, a stone ; from the places of its natural growJi. 



Flowers 9 c?. Perianth consisting of 2 series of sepaloid scales, 

 cf Stamens 3, anthers pendulous on long filaments. 9 Styles 6 9, 

 very short, erect, or ; stigmas oblong, radiate-spreading ; drupe 

 globose, 1 -celled ; seeds 6 9. Low, alpine shrubs. 



E. NIGRUM. Crowberry. 



Procumbent ; branches smooth ; Ivs. imbricated, linear-oblong, obtuse at 



