184 > CELASTRACE.^. 



(Plate 170, Fig. 9 and 12) are truthful, this covering must be a growth from 

 the funiculus itself, or a true arillus. 



The Aquifoliaceae, which were formerly confounded with this family, are 

 distinguished by the more or less monopetalous corolla, on the base of which, 

 and not on a fleshy disk, the stamens are inserted, and especially by the sol- 

 itary suspended ovules, and the minute embryo at the extremity of copious 

 albumen. 



Celastraceaj belong to the warmer portions of the temperate, and to the 

 intertropical regions of both hemispheres. The greater part are subtropical 

 and in the southern hemisphere, especially of the Old World. Euonymus 

 is the only European and North Asiatic genus except a Catha ? (Celastrus 

 Europaeus) in Granada ; while this genus and Celastrus occur in the United 

 States, and Pachystima, Baf. (Oreophila, Nutt., not of Don) in the Rocky 

 Mountains and in Oregon. Myginda, a West Indian genus, with drupaceous 

 fruit, is found on Key West. 



The sensible properties which prevail in this family are very similar to 

 those of the Rhamnacese. They are astringent and bitter, but at the same 

 time often pervaded with some stimulant, or more or less acrid or nauseous 

 products, which are frequently emetic or cathartic. The fruit or seeds of 

 Euonymus are said to poison sheep ; but the drupes of an El8eodendron are 

 edible. A fixed oil may be expressed from the seeds of several genera. 

 The green leaves of Catha edulis (Khat of the Arabs), which is cultivated 

 along with the Coffee-tree at Yemen, &c., are greedily eaten by the Arabs, 

 who attribute to them the power of producing extreme watchfulness, so that 

 a man may stand sentry all night long without drowsiness. They also re- 

 gard them as an antidote to the plague. 



