132 



CALYCIFLOK.^ 



Natural Order XXXVIII 

 CORNER. — The Cornel Tribe 



Sepals 4, attached to the ovary ; petals 4, oblong, broad at the 

 base, inserted into the top of the calyx ; stamens 4, inserted with 

 the petals ; ovary 2-celled ; stvle thread-like ; stigma simple ; fruit 

 a berry-like drupe, with a 2-celled nut ; seeds solitary. Mostly trees 

 or shrubs, with opposite leaves and flowqrs growing in heads or 

 umbels. A small Order, containing few plants of interest, which 

 inhabit the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and America. In 

 the United States several species are found, the bark of which is a 

 powerful tonic, and has been used in place of quinine. Benihatnia 

 fragifera, a handsome shrub from the mountains of Nepal, was in- 

 troduced into England in 1825. In Cornwall, where it was first 

 raised from seed, it flowers and bears fruit freely, and forms a 

 pleasing addition to the slirubbery. Two species of cornus are in- 

 digenous to Britain. The cornus of the ancients was the present 

 Cornelian Cherry {Cornus mascula), whose little clusters of yellow 

 starry flowers are among the earliest heralds of spring. Its fruit is 

 like a small plum, with a very austere flesh, but after keeping, it 

 becomes pleasantly acid. The Turks still use it in the manufacture 

 of sherbet. A similar sjjecies is commonly cultivated in Japan for 

 the sake of its fruit, which is a constant ingredient in flie acid 

 drinks of that country. The shrub now common in this country 

 under the name of Spotted Laurel {^4 ucuhu Japonica) belongs to 

 this Order. 



I. Cornus (Cornel). — Characters described above. (Name from 

 the shrul) so called l)y the Lai ins, from the horn-like nature of the 

 wood.) 



I. Cornus {Cornel) 



I. C. sanguinea (Wild Cornel, 

 Dog- wood). — A bushy shrub 5-6 

 feet high, with opposite, egg - 

 shaped, pointed leaves and ter- 

 minal cymes of creamy white 

 flouiers ; the berries are small and 

 dark purple. The Spindle Tree 

 {Enonymiis Europcea) and the 

 Guelder Rose {Viburnum Lan- 

 iana) have wood of a similar 

 nature, and the three were for- 

 merly much used for skewers, and 

 are frequently confused under the 

 common name Dog-wood. In 



autumn the leaves assume very 



Cornus Sanguinea 

 (Wild Cornel, Dog-wood) 



