0179 



AMERICAN BITTERSWEET. 



Family: NERPRUNEES [Translator r s note: this species now belongs to the family 

 Celastraceae]. 



Reproductive system: PENTANDRY, MONOGYNY. 



The American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, Linn., is a shrub that doesn't have 

 tendrils but nevertheless attaches firmly to nearby trees and chokes them tightly enough 

 to kill them. This made gardeners call it bourreau des arbres [Translator's note: the 

 trees' executioner]. The leaves are alternate, smooth, oval, pointed at the tip, dentate, and 

 petiolate. The small herbaceous flowers are in small terminal clusters. The calyx has five 

 lobes. The five small petals are opposite the same number of stamens. The ovary is sunk 

 into a disc and crowned by a style and three stigmata that are joined at the top. The fruit 

 is a three-cornered capsule with three compartments and three valves, each partitioned in 

 the center. Each compartment holds two seeds half surrounded by a tendril divided into 

 four. The embryo lacks a perisperm. 



FLOWERS: May and June 



RANGE: Canada. Acclimatized for a long time in our parks and gardens. 



NOMENCLATURE. Celastrus, from Celastros 9 the Greek name of a tree whose 

 fruit ripens very late, believed to be the buckthorn. The name was assigned to the present 

 genus because it's a member of the same family [Translator's note: currently, the genus 

 Celastrus belongs to family Celastraceae, and the buckthorn to Rhamnaceae. Both belong 

 to the order Celastrales]. German, der baummorder. Dutch, klimmende celastrus. English, 

 the climbing, staff tree. 



USES. It's grown in botanical gardens and in the parks of a few connoisseurs. The 

 red fruit looks very attractive in autumn. 



CULTIVATION. This shrub is very hardy. It thrives in almost all areas and in all 

 exposures. It's easily propagated from seeds and layers. 



There are several other known species of Celastrus. But they're almost all in 



