ORDER LXXP7. EBENAOE^E. 425 



Genus II.— HALE'SIA. Ellis, 15—12. 

 (In honor of Dr. Hales.) 



Calyx 4-toothed, attached to the ovary. Corolla 4-cleft, or 

 4-petaled. Stamens 8 — 12. Fruit 4-angled, 2-seeded. 



1. H. tetrap'tera, (L.) A small tree. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, pu- 

 bescent, acuminate, serrulate, on short petioles, generally glaucous be- 

 neath. Flowers in small axillary clusters. Corolla campanulate, 4-cleft. 

 Stamens 10 — 12, hairy at the base. Fruit 4- winged, oblong. — White. 

 March — April. Very common. 10 — 20 feet. 



2. H. dtp'tera, (L.) A small tree. Leaves ovate and broad-lanceo- 

 late, acuminate, serrulate. Flowers in axillary clusters, 4-petaled. Sta- 

 mens 8. Fruit compressed, obovate, with 2 large wings. — White. "*> 

 March — April. Common. 



Genus III— HOTEA. L. 15—12. 

 (In honor of Dr. John Hope.) 



Calyx superior, 5-cleft. Petals 5. Stamens numerous, col- 

 lected into 5 parcels. Style 1. Fruit drupaceous, with a 3- 

 celled nut. 



1. H. tincto'ria, (L.) A small tree or shrub, with expanding branch- 

 es and smooth bark. Leaves lanceolate, serrulate, crowded near the 

 summit of the branches, shining on the upper surface. Flowers in ax- 

 illary clusters, sessile. Calyx campanulate, with scales at the base. — 

 Yellow. *> . March — April. In rich soils. 4 — 20 feet. 



Order LXXIV.— EBENA'CE^E. (Ebony Family.) 



Flowers dioecious. Calyx 4 — 6-cleft, nearly equal, persistent. 

 Corolla urceolate, hypogynous, regular, 4 — 6-cleft, in the sterile 

 florets 8 — 16 stamens; filaments frequently double, each bear- 

 ing an anther. Anthers 2-celled, with longitudinal dehiscence ; 

 in the fertile florets 4 — 5 stigmas. Fruit fleshy, nearly globu- 

 lar, 8 — 1 2-seeded; embryo straight; cotyledons foliaceous. 

 Trees or shrubs, with alternate exstipulate leaves. 



Genus I— DIOSPY'ROS. L. 20—13. 

 (From dio8, Jupiter, and puros, fruit.) 



Genus the same as the Order. 



1. D. Virginia'na, (L.) A tree or shrub, with irregular branches. 

 Leaves alternate, on short petioles, oval-lanceolate, acuminate, some 

 what pubescent along the margin. Flowers axillary, solitary, on short 

 peduncles. Calyx of the fertile flowers persistent. Fruit yellowish- 

 red, with several large seeds immersed in a soft pulp, eatable when 

 perfectly ripe. — Greenish-yellow. ^ . May — June. Common. 6 — iO 

 feet. Persimmon 



The Persimmon is too well known to need my directing the attention of the stu- 

 dent to its upes or proportion. The bark is a powerful astringent, and is used in inter- 

 mittent fevers. The fruit when perfectly ripe, and mixed with yeast and 6ugar, make* 

 in agreeable and healthy drink, kuown as Persimmon Beer. 



