ULMACE.K. 



745 



%g^ 



heart-shaped, deeply 3- or 5-lobed, and 

 sharply toothed, very rough but not 

 stinging. Flowers dioecious, the males 

 in loose panicles in the upper axils, small, 

 and of a yellowish-green. Perianth of 5 

 segments. Stamens 5. Female flowers 

 in shortly stalked, axillary, ovoid or 

 globular spikes or heads, conspicuous 

 for their broad, closely-packed bracts, 

 each with 2 sessile flowers in its axil. 

 Perianth a concave scale enclosing the 

 ovary. Stigmas 2, long and linear. After 

 flowering, the scales of the spike (often 

 called a cone) become much enlarged, 

 quite concealing the seed-like fruits. 



In hedges, thickets, and open woods, 

 all over Europe and central and Russian 

 Asia, except the extreme north. Ex- 

 tends over England, Ireland, and here and there into Scotland, but 

 probably, in the north at least, only as an introduced plant, having 

 long been in general cultivation. Fl. summer. 



Fig. 899. 



LXX. THE ELM FAMILY. ULMACEJE. 



Trees or shrubs, differing from the Nettle family in their flowers 

 mostly hermaphrodite, and the ovary generally 2-celled, although 

 the fruit has but one seed. 



Besides the Elm genus there are but very few, either tropical or 

 from the warmer parts of the northern hemisphere. 



I. ELM. TJLMTJS. 



Trees, with alternate, deciduous leaves, and small flowers in clusters, 

 appearing before the leaves on the preceding year's wood. Perianth 

 campanulate, with 4 to 6 short lobes or teeth, and as many stamens. 

 Ovary flat, with 2 short, diverging styles, and divided into 2 cells, 

 each with a single pendulous ovule. Fruit flat, thin, and leaf-like, 

 slightly thickened at the centre, where it contains one pendulous seed. 



A small genus, spread over the temperate regions of the northern 

 hemisphere. 



