THE OLAX FAMILY 



OLACACE^ Lindley 



]LACACE^ consist of about 24 genera, including some 120 species of 

 trees, shrubs, or rarely shrubby herbs, some with twining stems, 

 occurring throughout the tropical zone, but most abimdant in the 

 East Indies. They are of no economic importance. The typical 

 genus, Olax, is composed of trees and shrubs of the Old World tropics. 



The Olacaceae have alternate, sometimes whorled, usually entire leaves, with 

 no stipules. The flowers are perfect or polygamous, regular, axiUary, in cymes, 

 racemes, or solitary. The calyx is 4-lobed to 6-lobed, sometimes, however, it is a 

 mere border to the hypogynous disk, which is free from or adnate to the ovary; 

 the corolla is more or less tubular and 4-lobed to 6-lobed, sometimes of nearly 

 distinct petals, inserted on the disk or on the receptacle, valvate in the bud; stamens 

 4 to 12, joined to the corolla tube, filaments distinct, rarely united, anthers oblong, 

 introrse, opening lengthwise; the ovary is free or immersed in the disk, or partially 

 inferior, i- to 4-celled, its divisions often incomplete; styles mostly united; stigma 

 entire, or 3- or 4-lobed; ovules i to 3 in each cell. The fruit is a drupe, naked or 

 nearly enclosed in the enlarged disk, i-celled and i-seeded; the seed has a mem- 

 branaceous coat, and copious fleshy endosperm, or rarely none ; embryo small and 

 straight. 



The genera represented in our area are : 



Branches unanned: corolla -lobes short; stamens as many as the corolla-lobes; 



drupe nearly enclosed. i. Schiepfia. 



Branches armed; corolla-lobes long; stamens twice as many as the corolla-lobes; 



drupe nearly naked. 2. Ximenia. 



I. WHITEWOOD 



GENUS SCHfflPFIA SCHREBER 

 Species Schoepfia chiysophylloides (A. Richard) Flanchon 

 Diplocalyx chrysophylloides A. Richard. Schoepfia Schreberi Small, not J. F. Gmelin 



HIS small unanned tree or shrub occurs on coral rock and in sand in pe- 

 ninsular Florida, the Keys, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Jamaica. 



The branches are unarmed, crooked, and rather brittle. The twigs 

 are slender, shghtly zigzag, smooth, green, becoming ashy gray. The 

 leaves are alternate, leathery, ovate or oblong-ovate, 2 to 6 cm. long, sharp or 



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