62 CELASTRAOEJS.- \Hij)pocratea,. 



single, with 3 stigmas. Fruit of 1, a, or 3 large obovate flat carpels opening 

 lonoitudinally along the centre of the flat sides in two boat-shaped valves, beeds 

 few%rect, flattened, expanded' in the lower part into a broad membranous 

 wing. Albumen none.— Woody climbers or rarely trees. Leaves opposite. 

 Flowers in axillary, dichotomous or trichotomous cymes or panicles. 



A genus disperaed over the New World as well as the Old, within the tropics. 



1. H. obtusifolia, Roxb. ,- W. and Am. Prod. M. Fenins. i. 104 ; 

 Wight, Ic. t. 963. A woody climber, glabrous in all its parts. Leaves oval- 

 oblong, elliptical, obtuse or shortly and obtusely acuminate, 2 to 3 in. long, 

 entire or slightly serrate, coriaceous, of a pale green. Flowers rather large for 

 the genus, spreading to about 4 lines diameter, of a yellowish green, in loose 

 cymes, seldom exceeding the leaves. Petals lanceolate. Ovary-cells with 6 

 ovules in each. Eipe carpels near 3 in. long, either broadly oblong and entire, 

 or broader and emarginate at the top. 



Frequent in ravines on Victoria Peak, Champion: Widely spread in India, from Ceylon 

 and the Peninsula to Silhet. Also in the Philippines. 



a. EVONYMUS, Linn. 



Sepals, petals, and stamens usually 4, rarely 5. Ovaiy with as many cells, 

 with 3 ovules in each. Style single, short and thick, with an entire or lobed 

 stigma. Fruit a capsule, with as many angles or lobes as cells, and opening 

 locuUcidaUy in as many valves. Seeds nearly enclosed in a coloured, usually 

 scarlet, arillus. — Shrubs or trees, with opposite leaves. Flowers greenish or 

 purple, in axillary dichotomous or trichotomous cymes. 



A genus dispersed over the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and N. America, with a few 

 more tropical Asiatic species. 



Petals, stamens, and ovary-cells 4. 



Erect shrab. Flowers 3 to 3i lines diameter. Ovules erect . . . \. E. nitidut. 



Stem prostrate or climbing. Flowers 5 lines diameter. Ovules pendulous 4. E. hederaoeus. 

 Petals, stamens, and ovary-cells 5. 



Leaves narrow, 4 to 6 in. long. Mowers 3 lines diameter .... 3. j^. longifoliia. 



Leaves oval-elliptical, li to 3 in. long. Flowers 5 lines diameter . 3. .E laxiflorus. 



1. E. nitidus, Benth. in Land. Journ. Sot. i. 483 ; Seem. Bot. Her. t. 

 83. An erect shrub, quite glabrous in all its parts ; the young branches angu- 

 lar. Leaves ovate, obovate, or oblong, about 3 in. long, quite entire, stiff, 

 smooth and shining. Flowers greenish, spreading to 3 or '6\ Knes in diameter, 

 few together in axillary cymes, only once or twice branched, and shorter than 

 the leaves. Petals and stamens 4. Capsule reddish-coloured, 4-celIed ; the 

 lobes scarcely prominent, and rounded at the top. Seeds with a small thin 

 arillus. 



Common in ravines. Champion and others. Also on the adjacent continent, but not known 

 out of S. China. 



2. E. lougifolius, Champ, in Kew Journ. Bot. iii. 333. An erect shrub, 

 glabrous or nearly so. Leaves stalked, narrow-oblong, 4 to 6 in. long, and 

 1 to li broad, either quite entire or with a few distant sen-atures, smooth, 

 and shining, with few veins. Flowers light green, about 3 lines diameter, 

 few together in paniculate cymes, but little longer than the petioles. Petals 

 B, slightly crenate or waved on the edge. Stamens 5. Capsule reddish- 

 coloured, flat at the top, with spreading rounded lobes. 



