cela] 



Efje Creagttrg of SSfltang. 



244 



* 



species of Euonymus in America, from ! 

 their crimson capsules and arils, are called 

 burning-bush. Celastrus scandens from 

 its aspect is denominated Wax-work in j 

 North America. The stimulating substance 

 called by the Arabs khat is procured from 

 Catha edulis. The wood of the European 

 spindle-tree is used for cannon gunpowder 

 in Prance. There are thirty-five known 

 genera, and 280 species. Illustrative 

 genera: Euonymus, Celastrus, Ekeoden- 

 dron. [J • H. B.] 



CELASTRUS. A genus which gives its 

 name to the family to which it belongs. 

 It is on the one hand allied to Euonymus, 

 from which it differs in its alternate leaves, 

 and on the other to Catha, which embraces 

 spiny shrubs, whose seeds are furnished 

 with a small aril; whilst Celastrus is com- 

 posed of small unarmed scandent shrubs or 

 trees, having a large aril to their seeds. 

 Their leaves are alternate, entire or serrated 

 with minute stipules. The flowers are 

 small, green or white, and disposed in 

 terminal racemes or panicles. The name of 

 the genus is derived from the C4reek, sig- 

 nifying the latter season. The ancients 

 considered the holly, the genista, and the 

 celastrus, the trees which ripened their 

 fruit latest in the season. The celastrus of 

 the ancients is, however, supposed to have 

 been a kind of Euonymus. C. scandens is a 

 climbing North American shrub, popularly 

 known as Bitter-sweet or Wax-work. The 

 capsules are orange-coloured when mature, 

 and the seeds reddish-brown, coated with a 

 bright orange or scarlet aril. It is some- 

 times planted as an ornamental climber 

 ^because of its showy fruit. The seeds are 

 said to possess narcotic and stimulating 

 qualities, while the bark is purgative and 

 emetic. ' The scarlet-coated seeds of C. 

 panicalatus, a common -Brnilnn - species, 

 yield an oil which is sometimes used for 

 burning in lamps, and is in repute among 

 native doctors. The seeds have a hot 

 biting taste owing to a resinous matter 

 contained in them. The plants comprised 

 in this genus, commonly called Staff-trees, 

 are found in the temperate regions of 

 tropical countries, and appear in greatest 

 number in the Himalayas. [A. A. B.] 



CELERIAC. A turnip-rooted variety 

 of the garden celery. 



CELERY. Apium graveolens. 



CELLA. A name sometimes given to 

 a form of the perithecium among fungals. 



CELLS, CELLULES. Cavities in the 

 interior of a plant. The cells of tissue 

 are those which form the interior of the 

 elementary vesicles. Cells of the stem, 

 air-cells, &c, are spaces organically formed 

 by a peculiar building up of tissue, for 

 various vital purposes. 



CELLULAR SYSTEM. That part of the 

 plant which consists of cells or elementary 

 vesicles. 



CELLULARES. A name given to cry- 

 ptogams, from a notion that they consist 



entirely of cells. A more accurate acquaint- 

 ance, however, with their anatomy has 

 shown that vascular tissue exists in many 

 of the higher forms, and that even in 

 Fungi there are genera which possess true 

 spiral vessels, while in one or two higher 

 Algo3 the stem contains vascular threads, 

 while the contents of the cells or endo- 

 chrome are sometimes disposed in one or 

 more spiral bands. In botn, the cell-walls 

 themselves have occasionally a spiral 

 structure. Podaxon amongst Fungi, and 

 Conferva Melagonium amongst Algce, afford 

 excellent examples. [M. J. B.] 



CELLULOSE. The primitive membrane, 

 free from all deposits of sedimentary or 

 other matter. Its composition, according 

 to the latest analysis, is C 24 H20 O 10. 



CELOSIA. A genus of amaranthads, 

 consisting, with a few exceptions, of tro- 

 pical annual plants, closely allied in their 

 structure to Amarantlius, with which they 

 ! agree in having the flowers three-bracted, 

 I a perianth of five-coloured scarious pieces, 

 two-celled anthers, and an utricular seed- 

 vessel splitting horizontally round when 

 ripe ; but differ in their five stamens be- 

 ing united at the base into a cup, in 

 having a more or less elongated style, and 

 in the utricle containing several seeds, 

 instead of but one only. It is important 

 to remark that the form of the C. cristata 

 or Cockscomb usually found in cultivation, 

 conveys a very incorrect idea of the inflo- 

 rescence of this genus, the broad flattened 

 stem with its terminal crest being a mon- 

 strosity, resultingfrom the lateral adhesion 

 of the stems and branches by a process 

 termed by botanists fasciation. In its 

 normal phase the C. cristata is of erect 

 habit, growing one to two feet high, 

 with roundish striated stems pyramidally 

 branched nearly to the base, alternate 

 leaves of a lanceolate or ovate-lanceo- 

 late form, and flowers in either loose 

 pyramidal panicles or compact spikes. 

 In the beautiful, but now little known 

 C. aurea of gardens, which is regarded by 

 botanists as but a form of cristata, only 

 a few of the flowers at the base of the 

 panicle are perfect, those of the summit 

 being abortive, and putting on the appear- 

 ance of glossy yellow spirally-twisted 

 scales, which gives the inflorescence a 

 tassel-like form. There is a red-flowered 

 variety of taller growth, with the blossoms 

 in compact conical spikes. There are 

 several other species agreeing with these 

 in habit, but they are less ornamental, and 

 possess little general interest. The flowers 

 of the Cockscomb are reputed to be as- 

 tringent, and are employed in India in 

 diarrhoea and other maladies. [W. T.] 



CELSIA. A small genus of linariads 

 distinguished by a wheel-shaped five-lobed 

 corolla, and didynamous bearded stamens. 

 It is closely allied to Verbascum, which 

 differs from it chiefly in having five perfect 

 stamens. The species are annual or 

 biennial plants, in the latter case some- 

 times of shrubby habit, with entire or 



