THE CORNEL OR DOGWOOD FAMILY 297 



other monoecious plants, the pistillate flowers mature before 

 the staminate ones, and so cross-pollination is inevitable. 



Genus Gunnera. 



Creeping herbs, with small, inconspicuous flowers. Sepals 2 or 3 ; petals 2, 

 'i, or 0; stamens 2 or 3. Ovule solitary. Fruit a small drupe. The New 

 Zealand species have no petals. (Named after Gunner, a Swedish bishop and 

 botanist). 



Gunnera monoica (Tha Solitary Gunnera). 



Tufted, creeping. Leaves | in. -5 in. across, crcnate, kidney-shaped. Flowers 

 in slender panicles. Perianth of two narrow segments ; stamens 2. Drupe 

 jW in. long. Both islands. Fl. Oct. -Nov. 



Cornaceae. 



The Cornel or Dogwood Family. 



Distribution. — A small and unimportant family, chiefly found in temperate 

 regions. Aucuba japmiica, the variegated laurel, and the Cornelian Cherry, 

 Cornus mas, are cultivated in gardens. Two or three of the species are said to 

 possess tonic properties. 



Key to the Genera. 



Leaves white underneath. Flowers i)erfect. Corokia, p. '297. 



Leaves glossy. Flowers unise.xual. Griselinia, p. 298. 



Genus Corokia. 



Shrubs or trees, with alternate leaves, silvery beneath. Calyx 5-toothed. 

 Petals, 5, silky, yellow. Stamens, 5. This small genus is peculiar to New- 

 Zealand and the Chatham Islands. (Name from the Maori). 3 sp. 



Copokia buddleoides {The Buddleia-like Corokia). 



A small tree, with long narrow leaves, shining above, and downy beneath. 

 Flowers in slender panicles. Corolla Jin. long, yello\\-. Drupe, orange-red. 



