OLEACEAE. 319 



woody; leaves obovate- to oblong-spatulate, obtuse or sometimes retuse, tapering 

 below into a rather long petiole, 4 to 9 in. long; scapes 1 to 2 ft. high, loosely 

 paniculate; flowers violet-purple; petals oblong, narrowed towards the base. 2 to 

 2% lines long. 



Common about San Francisco Bay and along the coast. July-Dec. 



OLEACEAE. Ash Family. 



Trees or shrubs, mostly with opposite leaves. Flowers small, commonly in 

 panicles, mostly unisexual. Stamens few (1 to 4). Ovary superior, 2-celled; 

 sryle one. Fruit a samara, capsule or drupe. — Forsythia, Lilac, Olive and Privet 

 are cultivated with us. 



1. FRAXINUS L. Ash. 



Leaves deciduous, pinnately compound (except one species) ; terminal leaflet 

 on a longer stalk than the lateral, or the lateral leaflets sessile. Flowers in 

 small crowded panicles, appearing just before the leaves and from separate 

 buds. Calyx small, truncate, with toothed border. Corolla with 2 equal petals 

 or none. Stamens 2 (rarely 1 or 3). Ovules 2 in each cell. Fruit a 1-seeded 

 samara, with terminal wing. (The Latin name of the ash.) 



Flowers dioecious; corolla none; style conspicuously 2-lobed; leaflets mostly sessile, 2 in. 



long or more; branchlets of the season terete 1. F. oregona. 



Flowers mostly perfect; corolla present; style obscurely lobed; leaflets mostly stalked, less 



than 2 in. long; branchlets of the season 4-sided and 4-winged 2. F. dipetala. 



1. F. oregona Xutt. Oregon Ash. Tree 30 to 80 ft. high; leaves 6 to 12 

 in. long; leaflets 5 to 7, oblong to oval, or often broadest toward the apex and 

 abruptly short-pointed, usually sessile except the terminal one, entire or toothed 

 above the middle, 2 to 5% in. long; stamens 2 (sometimes 1 or 3) ; samara 

 oblong-lanceolate, l 1 /^ to 2 in. long, including the wing, the body clavate and % 

 to % in. long. 



Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, North Coast Eanges and north- 

 ward. Eare in South Coast Ranges (Walnut Creek, Gilroy, Pajaro River). 



3. F. dipetala H. & A. Mountain Ash. Shrub 5 to 15 ft. high; leaves 2 

 to 6 in. long; leaflets 3 to 9, serrate above the middle, % to iy 2 i n - long; petals 

 2. white, about 3 lines long; samaras 1 to l 1 ^ in. long, the wing frequently 

 notched at tip. 



Canons or mountain slopes in both the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges : 

 Vaca Alts.; Paso Robles, Benj. Cobb; and southward. Also called Flowering 

 Ash. 



GENTIANACEAE. Gextiax Family. 



Glabrous herbs with a colorless bitter juice. Leaves opposite, simple (or 

 rarely compound), entire. Flowers perfect, regular 5 or 4-merous. Calyx per- 

 sistent. Corolla usually withering-persistent. Stamens on the tube or throat of 

 the corolla, the lobes of which are commonly convolute. Ovary superior, 1-eelled, 

 with 2 parietal placentae; style one or none; stigmas 2. Fruit a 2-valved sep- 

 ticidal capsule, the incurved edges bearing the seeds. 



Perennials; flowers blue; anthers remaining straight 1. Gentia.va. 



Annuals. 



Flowers red or pink; anthers twisting spirally after shedding pollen 2. Erythraea. 



Flowers yellow; anthers unchanged 3. Microcala. 



1. GENTIAN A L. Gentian. 

 Herbs with opposite sessile leaves and showy usually blue flowers. Corolla 

 withering-persistent and enclosing the capsule. Calyx 4 or 5-cIeft, commonly 

 with a membranous or spathe-like tube. Corolla campanulate or funnelform, the 



