174 ROSACEA. Coleogyne. 



8. COLEOGYNE, Torr. 



Calyx persistent, 4-parted ; lobes large, ovate, imbricated, with a membranaceous 

 margin, colored within. Petals none. Stamens numerous, inserted upon the base 

 of a tubular torus which includes the ovary. Carpels solitary (rarely 2), glabrous, 

 oblong : style lateral, very villous at base, twisted, exserted, persistent : stigma de- 

 current : ovule solitary, ventrally attached opposite the base of the style. Fruit a 

 coriaceous akene, glabrous, included. Seed with a rather spongy testa, without 

 albumen : radicle superior. — A diffusely branched somewhat spinescent shrub ; 

 leaves opposite, small, entire, coriaceous ; stipules minute ; flowers solitar}', termi- 

 nal on the short branchlets, subtended by 1 or 2 pairs of 3-lobed bracts, yellow, 

 showy. A remarkable genus, of a single species. 



1. S. ramosissima, Torr. Much branched, 3 to 6 feet high, the short rigid 

 branches opposite and spinescent ; bark gray : leaves approximate upon the branch- 

 lets, linear-oblanceolate, 2 to 4 lines long, thick, usually 2 - 4-sulcate on the lower 

 side, puberulent with appressed hairs attached by the middle ; stipules short, trian- 

 gular : flowers half an inch broad : calyx-lobes often ciliate-toothed : tube of "the 

 torus membranaceous, dilated below and narrowed to the shortly 5-toothed apex, as 

 long as the calyx and very slender filaments, densely white-villous within : akene 

 somewhat compressed, oblong-ovate, the obtuse apex incurved : seed suspended 

 from near the summit and filling the akene. — PL Frem. 8, t. 4 ; Parry, Am. 

 Naturalist, ix. 270. 



About the head-waters of the Mohave {Fremont) and eastward in Southern Nevada and Arizona 

 to Southern Colorado. 



9. CERCOCARPUS, HBK. Mountain Mahogany. 



Calyx narrowly tubular, the campanulate 5-lobed limb deciduous ; lobes slightly 

 imbricated. Petals none. Stamens 15 to 25, in 2 or 3 rows on the limb of the 

 calyx. Carpels solitary (rarely 2), narrow, terete : style terminal : stigma terminal : 

 ovule solitary, ascending. Fruit a coriaceous linear terete villous akene, included in 

 the enlarged calyx-tube, caudate with the elongated exserted plumose twisted style. 

 Seed linear, with membranous testa : radicle inferior. — Shrubs or trees ; leaves 

 alternate, simple, evergreen ; stipules very small ; flowers small, axillary or terminal, 

 solitary or somewhat fascicled. > 

 A genus of 4 or 5 species, chiefly of the interior of the continent, one being Mexican. 



1. C. ledifolius, Nutt. A shrub or small tree, usually 6 to 15 feet high : leaves 

 narrowly lanceolate with the margins more or less revolute, thick-coriaceous and 

 somewhat resinous, entire, more or less tomentose, but usually glabrous above, \ to 

 li- inches long, acute, narrowed at base to a short petiole; midnerve prominent: 

 flowers sessile, tomentose : limb of the calyx 2 lines long, deeply toothed ; tube be- 

 coming 3 to 5 lines long : tail of the akene at length 2 or 3 inches long. — Torr. & 

 Gray/Fl. i. 427; Hook. Ic. PL t. 324; Nutt. Sylva, ii. 28, t. 51; Watson, Pot. 

 King Exp. 83. 



Olanche Mts. (Rothrock) at 9,400 feet altitude, and on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada 

 from Mono Pass at 9,000 feet altitude (Bolander) to Oregon, and eastward in the mountains to 

 the Wahsatch. It is popularly known as Mountain Mahogany, having a hard and heavy dark- 

 colored wood, susceptible of a fine polish. It sometimes becomes a handsome tree, 40 or 50 feet 

 high, but is usually low, with a compact head. 



2. C. parvifolius, Nutt. A shrub, usually 2 to 10 feet high, branching from a 

 thick base, sometimes 15 to 20 feet high i leaves cuneate-obovate, less coriaceous, 



