Viscwn.'] 



XLI. LORANTHACE^. 



191 



1, CoRNus Li7in. Cornel, Dogwood. 



Cal of 4 teeth. Petals 4, superior. Stam. 4. Nut of the 

 drupe with 2 cells and 2 seeds. — !N"amed from cornu (keren m 

 Hebrew), a horn; owing to the hard nature of the wood, of which 

 javelins were made. 



1. C, sanguinea L. (wild C. or JD.) ; [arborescent, branches 

 straight, leaves opposite ovate green on both sides, cymes flat 

 destitute of involucre. E, B. t. 249. 



Woods and thickets, particularly on a chalk or limestone soil • 

 scarcely wild in Scotland. I2 . 6. 7, — Stem 5 — 6 ft high. Bark 

 in the older hraiiches dark red, as are the leaves before they fall; 

 these are strongly nerved, entire,' slightly hairy beneath. Cymes of 

 numerous "whiiQ flowers at the ends of the branches. 



2. C. Suecica L. {dwarf C) ; herbaceous, leaves all opposite 

 ovate glabrous sessile, flowers fe^v umbellate surrounded by a 

 4-leaved petal oid involucre. E, B. t. 310. 



Alpine pastures in Northumberland and Scotland, especially in 

 turf bogs on the Highland mountains. 1\.. 7, 8. — Creeping. Stems 



about six inches high. 



Umbel terminal, from the axil of 2 young 

 branches which do not exceed the general flower-stalk in height, till 

 the fruit is ripe. 



Ord. XLI. LORANTHACEiE Juss. 



Stamens and pistils often separated. 



the base ; its limb entire oi 



Calyx'tid)e adnate with 



lobed. 



the omr?/, bracteate at _ , 



Corolla of 4 — 8 petals^ or monopetalous, with a valvular sestiva- 

 tion. Stamens as many as divisions of the corolla and opposite 

 to them. Ovary 1 -celled. Ovule solitary, pendulous. Style 1 or 

 none. Stigma simple. Fruit inferior, succulent. Albumen 

 fleshy. — Parasitical, mostly tropical Shrubs. Leaves entire, 

 generally opposite, thick and fleshy, without stipules,— The seed 

 sometimes contains 2 or even 3 embryos. 



1 . ViscuM Linn. Mistletoe. 



Barren fl. Cal, obsolete. Pet 4, ovate, fleshy, united at 

 the base and bearinji each a sinorle anther adnate with the 



^pper surface. 



llefl^ 



Cal. an obscure margin, superior. 



Name : 



■ret. 4, erect, ovate, very minute. Stigma sessile. 



'?oe, Greek, from gwid, Celtic, the shrub, par excellence, a sacred 



plant with our ancestors, 



1. V. album L. (common M.) ; leaves obovate-lanceolate 

 obtuse obscurely 3— 7-nerved, branches dichotomous or verti- 

 cillate, heads of flowers in the axils of an upper pair of leaves. 



E. B. t. 1470. -^^ 



Parasitic, mostly on apple-trees, very seldom on the oak ; frequent 



