CORNACE^. 



69 



Helwingia japonica. 



Corokias are known, shrubs of New Zealand,' with alternate, per- 

 sistent, small, entire and coriaceous leaves. The flowers^ are col- 

 lected in axillary or terminal clusters, more or less compound, rarely 

 simple, and the floral pedicel bears two lateral bracteoles. 



Kaliphora madagascariensis-^ is a shrub with alternate leaves, the 

 flowers of which much resemble in their general organization those 

 of the preceding types ; but they are unisexual. In the female flower, 

 the concave receptacle 

 partly lodges the inferior 

 ovary, which has two uni- 

 ovulate cells.* In the male 

 flower, the receptacle is 

 small, not concave, and 

 bears a short gamosepalous 

 calyx with four teeth, four 

 long alternate, valvate, or 

 slightly imbricate petals, 

 and four^ alternate stamens, 

 with bilocular and introrse 

 anthers. The short fila- 

 ments are inserted under a 

 circular disk which sur- 

 rounds the conical rudiment 

 of a sterile gynaecium. 



In Helwingia' (fig. 52, 

 53), '^ type of a sub-series {Helwingiece) often referred to other families, 

 the flowers are equally unisexual, dioecious, 3-5-merous. In the 

 female flowers, the inferior ovary is similar to that of Gornus, and 

 each of its cells encloses a descending ovary, with micropyle interior 

 and superior. It is surmounted by small calycinal collar in which 



Fig. 62. Floriferous 

 leaf of male. 



Fig. 53. Long. sect, of 

 female flower (',")• 



I Hook. Icon. t. 424. — Eaoul, Choise de PL 

 Nouv.-Zei. t. 20.— Hook. p. Fl. Nov.-Zel. i. 98 ; 

 jamdb. N.-Zeal. Fl. 105. 



' Small, yeUowish. 



» Hook. j. Gen. 951, n. 10 ; Hook. Icon. ser. 3, 

 i. 16, t. 1023. 



* We cannot, for want of material, affirm the 

 , primary direction of the micropyle, often lateral 

 at adult age. ' 



' Decaibne {Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. xx. 157) has 

 removed this genus from the Oornaeeie because 

 its androecium is diplosteraonous ; this is an 



error. There are as many stamens as petals. 

 The connective is slightly apiculate. 



6 W. Spec. Fl. iv. 716.— MouB. et Done. Obs. 

 PI. Jap. 5 ; Ann. So. Nat. ser. 2, vi. 68, t. 7. — 

 Endl. Gen. u.. 2090. — Payee, Organog. 429, t. 

 109. —J. G. Agabdh, Theor. Syst. Plant. 310. — 

 B. H. Gen. 939, u. 15.— H. Bn. £ull. Soe.Linn. 

 Par. 137. -Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 726. 



' The ovule has not two coats so distinct as in 

 the fig., a point impossible to determine pre- 

 cisely i'rom dried specimens and aged ovaries, 

 probably only one as in Aucuba, Oarrya, &c. 



