668 



Cupania 



number about 8, and have filiform fila- 

 ments, those of the staminate flowers 

 about as long as the petals, those of 

 pistillate flowers shorter; the ovaiy is 

 3-celled, somewhat 3-lobed, with 2 

 ovules in each cavity; the style is short 

 and the knob-hke stigma turned to one 

 side. The fruits are ovoid, black, 5 to 

 7 mm. long, the flesh thin, the pit thick- 

 shelled, containing one seed. 



The wood is dark brown, hard, 

 strong, and durable; its specific gravity 

 is about 0.95, and is used for fence- 

 posts and tool-handles. The name 

 Hypelate was taken up for this tree by 

 P. Browne in his work on the plants of 

 Jamaica; it is the ancient Greek name 

 for the Butcher's broom of Europe 

 (Ruscus), which this tree little resembles, however. 



Fig. 620. — White Ironwood. 



I'm^ 



IV. CUPANIA 



GENUS CXJPANIA [PLUMIER] LINN^US 

 Species Cupania glabra Swartz 



JBOUT 35 species of Cupania 



are known, all trees and 



shrubs, natives of tropical 



America. They have un- 

 equally pinnate leaves, with toothed leaf- 

 lets and no stipules; the flowers are very 

 small, regular, polygamous or dioecious, 

 and are borne in large axillary clusters; 

 the fruit is a 3-lobed, 3-celled leathery 

 capsule, usually containing 3 seeds; Cu- 

 pania americana Linnaeus, a common 

 tree of Haiti, Cuba, and Porto Rico, is 

 the type of the genus. 



Cupania glabra is known in the 

 United States only from Pine Key, south- 

 em Florida, where it was collected many 

 years ago by Blodgett, and has not since 

 been observed there. It is common in 

 Cuba and Jamaica and occurs also in Fig. 621. — Cupania. 



