112 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



temperate regions of Europe, Asia, or Africa, with alternate or 

 rarely opposite leaves most frequently persistent. The flowers 

 are sometimes axillary and sessile, generally in the axils of the 

 upper leaves or bracts which take their place, so that collectively they 

 form a sort of capitule. In the Daphne of South-western America, 

 the habit and the foliage are the same ; but the tetramerous flowers 

 are declinous, and the perianth is infundibuliform, constricted at the 

 throat. Of the eight stamens, reduced in the female flower to 

 narrow sterile tongues, the four superior are oppositipetalous and 

 exserted. The gynsecium is surrounded by a small disk of four 

 scales, and the elongated style is dilated to a stigmatiferous 

 head. They formed the genus Ovtdta, abundant especially in 

 the Andes. Wikstroemia was also formerly comprised in the genus 

 Daphne, and is scarcely distinct ; the perianth and androecium are 

 the same; the disk is nil or formed of four hypogynous, linear 

 scales, free or united at the base. The fruit, generally but slightly 

 fleshy, finally ' separates from the perianth, which opens length- 

 wise, and the seed has a scanty albumen. They are Oceanic and 

 Asiatic trees and shrubs, with opposite, more rarely alternate leaves, 

 not persistent, and terminal inflorescence. 



Beside Daphne and Wikstroemia are ranged some other closely allied 

 genera, all of which have regular, diplostemonous flowers, without 

 scales in the throat. Such are Stellera, shrubby or herbaceous 

 plants of temperate Asia. The perianth is hypocrateriform, 4-6- 

 merous, and its tube presents above the ovary a transverse articula- 

 tion. The upper becomes detached, whilst the indurated base 

 surrounds the dry fruit. The ovary, surrounded by an oblique 

 membranous disk, is surmounted by a bundle of hairs from which 

 emerges the style dilated at the summit. The leaves are alternate 

 and the flowers disposed in spikes or in terminal capitules. Thymelcea . 

 has tetramerous, unisexual or hermaphrodite flowers, without hypo- 

 gynous disk. They are shrubby or subshrubby plants of the Levant, 

 Asia and North Africa. The leaves are alternate, and the flowers 

 axUlary, solitary or collected in glomerules. ylrthrosolen, shrubs or 

 undershrubs of southern and eastern Africa, having flowers axillary 

 or terminal and surrounded by an involucre, has an infundi- 

 buliform coloured perianth; the flower differs from that of 

 Gnidia only in the absence of scales in the throat of the perianth. 

 Diarthron is also very analogous. The tetramerous perianth has the 



