UL1I ACE JE. 



143 



and in structure nearly like those of the Elm. The pentamerous 

 perianth is imbricated, and they have five stamens superposed to the 

 sepals, with filaments inflexed in the bud but which straighten 

 themselves, often elastically, at the time of anthesis. The stamens 

 are primarily introrse. The unilocular ovary encloses one descending 

 campylotropous ovule and is surmounted by a style with two stigma- 

 tiferous branches (fig. 95). The pufamen encloses one seed the 

 embryo of which is accompanied by a little mucous albumen and 

 has two conduplicate cotyledons. — Lotus ( Celtis) consists of trees or 

 shrubs of all warm and temperate regions of the globe. Their leaves 

 are alternate and triplinerved at the base. 



Celtis australis. 



■ 





Fig. 95. Flower (\). Fig. 97. Long. sect, of fruit (f). Fig. 96. Long. sect, of flower. 



From the Lotus plants the following geuera are distinguished only 

 by characters of very small value. Gironniera, Asiatic and Austra- 

 lian trees, ally themselves with Celtis by their flowers with imbri- 

 cate sepals and leaves with independent stipules. But the fruit, 

 sur nu united by a persistent style, with two branches not plumose, is 

 accompanied at the base by the persistent calyx ; and the flowers 

 are dioecious instead of being polygamo-monœcicus. Trema, natives 

 of nearly all warm regions of the globe, have the free stipules and 

 polygamo-diœcious flowers of Celtis, with the persistent calyx at the 

 base of the fruit like Gironniera, ; but the prefloration of the sepals 

 is such that they are valvate-induplicate below and imbricate at 

 the summit. Parasponia, inhabiting the same countries as Giron- 

 niera, has the polygamo-moncecious flowers and imbricate calyx of 

 Celtis and the drupaceous fruit with persistent calyx at its base of 

 Trema. But the style-branches are plumose, and the two stipules of 

 the same leaf are united in a single concave axillary blade, like those 

 of the Artocarpecc. Aphananthe, trees of the same countries as 

 Gironniera and Parasponia, have the calyx imbricate and persistent, 



