Coriaria.] SSII. COEIARIEAE. 97 



Oeder XXII.— coe,ia.k,iea.e. 



Flowers regular, hermaphrodite or polygamoiis. Sepals 5, ovate-triangular, 



imbricate in bud, persistent. Petals 5, shorter than the sepals, at length ace- 



rescent and appressed to the carpels, keeled within. Stamens 10 in two series, 



all free or sometimes 5 adnate with the keel of the petals ; filaments short, 



elongating after fertilisation. Carpels 5 or 10, inserted at the summit of the 



depressed conical receptacle, 1 -celled. Styles as many as the carpels, free, 



flexuous, stigmatif erous over the entire surface ; ovules solitary, pendulous ; 



micropyle superior. Fruit 5-10 compressed achenes, enclosed in the fleshy 



petals, keeled on the back and sides. Seeds compressed; testa membranous; 



endosperm scanty, thin ; embryo compressed, fleshy ; cotyledons plano-convex ; 



radicle short, superior. Woody or suffruticose shrubs, or rarely small trees or 



herbs, with angular branches and opposite or rarely 3-nate entire exstipulate 



leaves. Flowers axillary, rarely terminal, solitary or racemed. 



A small monotypio order, comprising about 12 species, natives of Europe, China, Japan, 

 India, Peru, and New Zealand. All the New Zealand forms are perennial ; they vary to a remark- 

 able extent, and should probably be referred to a single species. 



1. CORIARIA, Linn. 



Chaeactees op the Oeder. 



Stems branched, woody. Racemes drooping . . . . . . . . 1. C. ruscifolia. 



Suffruticose, herbaceous, branched. Racemes, erect . . . . . . 2. C. thymifolia. 



Herbaceous. Stems simple, strict. Racemes erect . . . . . . 3. C. lurida. 



Herbaceous, much branched, slender . . . . . . . . . . 4. C. angustissima. 



1. C. ruscifolia, L., Sp. PI. 1037. A shrub or small tree, with trunk 



rarely 12in. in diameter. Branches spreading. Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, 



acute or acuminate, sessile or very shortly petioled, 5-nerved, the outer nerves 



often obscure. Racemes drooping, many-flowered, 6in.— 12in. long or more, 



pubescent or glabrous. Pedicels slender, bracteolate at the base. Flowers pro- 



terogynous. Sepals broadly obtuse or subacute. Filaments elongating after 



fertilisation. In the fruiting stage the petals are fleshy and full of purple 



juice. — Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 45 ; Handbk. 46 ; T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 139. 



C. sarmentosa, G. Forst., Prod. n. 377; DC, Prod. i. 739; Hook, Bot. Mag. t. 



2470 ; A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 581. C. arborea and C. Tutu, Lindsay, Contrib. to 



N.Z. Bot. 84. C. hermaphrodita, Banks and Sol. ]\ISS. 



KERMADEC Islands to Southland ; CHATHAM Islands ; STEWART Island. Sea-level to 

 3,000ft. Abimdant in lowland districts. Also in Chili and Peru. Puhou. Tutu. Tupakihi. 



The juice of the leaves, &c., in the spring and the seeds in the autumn are highly poisonous. 

 The fleshy petals afford a pleasant wine. In the " Index Kewensis " the New Zealand plant is con- 

 sidered distinct from the Peruvian. 



C ruscifolia often develops very robust shoots from the rootstock, which attain the height 

 of from 6ft.-10ft. in a single season. 



2. C. thymifolia, Humb. and Bonp. ex TFilld., Sp. PI. iv. 819. Suffruticose 

 or herbaceous, 6in.— 3ft. high. Branches slender. Leaves iin.— lin. long, ovate, 

 lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, flat, sessile or very shortly petioled, often with 

 short stout rhizomes. Racemes slender, spreading, but not drooping, lin.— 3in. 



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