NhXTLE FAMILY 425 



between the two British species have occurred in North Somer- 

 set. — Fl. January — April. Perennial. 



Ord. LX^"1. Eu-eagn',\.ce.«.— Ole.\ster Family 



A very small order of shrubs and trees, native to the Northern 

 Hemisphere, covered with scurfy scales 5 leaves undivided, 

 exstipulate ; flowers dicecious, small, potys)'m metric, axillary ; 

 staminate floioers in catkins, with a 2 — 4-lQbed tubular perianth, 

 and 3 — S stamois sessile in the tube ; earpeltate flower solitary, 

 with a tubular, 2 — 6-cleft periaiilh, and superior, i-chambered, i- 

 ovuled ovarv ,■ style short ; stig)na lateral ; jritit an indehiscent 

 nut, enclosed within the fleshy persistent perianth. The fruit of 

 several species of Elcedgiius is eaten in the -East, and the flowers 

 are highly fragrant, and abound in honey, which in some parts of 

 Europe is considered a remedy for maligna'nt fevers. The only 

 British species is the Sea Buckthorn (Hippoipha'e Rhamiinides). 



I. Hipp6ph.\e (Sea Buckthorn). — A genus containing only the 

 one species H. RhainnoiJes, the Sea Buckthorn, or Sallow 

 Thorn, is a shrub, 4 — 8 feet high, \;\lh. branches ending in spines; 

 leaves scattered, obovate, silvery : flowers smSXl, greenish, appearing 

 with the leaves ; stamens 4 ; berries orange-yellow, very juicy, 

 acid. — Sandy shores on the east coast ; rare.^Fl. May. Perennial. 



Ord. LX\TL Urticace.e. — Xexxle Family 



A large and difficult Order the limits of which are variously 

 assigned by different botanists. la its widpst sense it comprises 

 over 1,500 species, natives of all climates, of all sizes, and of very 

 various jjroperties. They ha-\e leaves either' opposite or scattered, 

 bilt usually stipulate, serrate, and rough ; /Zoiiew usually imperfect, 

 small and green ; perianth 3 — S-cleft and persistent, or wanting ; 

 stamens equal in number to the lobes of the perianth, and 

 opposite to them : ovary superior, i- rarely 2-chambered, 1- rarely 

 2-ovuled ; styles 1 — 2 ; jriiit dry, indehiscent, i-seeded. One 

 large section of the Order, not represey:]ted among British 

 plants, has a milky juice often rich in rulaber, and includes a 

 number of edible fruits, or rather structures enclosing the fruits. 

 The Cow-tree, Palo de vaca, Arbol de lech'e, of South America 

 (Brosinnim Galactodendron), contains an abundance of attractive 

 milk, closely resembling that of the cow. B. AubUtii, a large 

 tree, also South American, yields the spott^^d heart-wood known 

 as Snake-wood, Letter-wood, or Leopard-wood. Ficus eldsiica 

 and other species yield the india-rubber of Lidia, The Fig 



