i33 



Plate 23. 

 Fam. 3. Myricaceae. 4. Ulmaceae. 6. Urticaceae. 



A. Myrica quercifolia L. I. Female twig. 2. Male twig. 



B. Myrica cordifolia L. I. Fruiting twig. 2. Fruit (drupe) in transverse section. 



C. Celtis Kraussiana Bernh. 1. Flowering twig, the terminal flower bisexual, the 

 others staminate. 2. Bisexual flower. 3/1. 3. Anther. 24/1. 4. Staminate flower, 

 5-merous. 6/1. 5. Staminate flower, 4-merous. 6/1. 6. Fruiting twig. 7. Drupe, 

 the upper half of the pulpy pericarp removed. 2/1. 8. Seed, taken out of the stone, in 

 long, section. 



D. Fleurya capensis Wedd. 1. Small plant. 2. Flower, one anther just 

 exploding. 5/1. 3. Fruit with persistent calyx. 12/1. 4. Stinging hair. 20/1. 



Myricaceae. 



Myrica. This genus has a wide distribution, occurring in Europe, Asia, 

 America and Africa. There are nine species in South Africa, all dioecious, 

 evergreen, low shrubs or shrublets with spicate, wind-pollinated flowers. 



The fruits of several species are covered with closely set white scales of 

 wax, which ' attract birds, e.g. starlings, thus assisting in the dissemination of 

 the plant. 



The layer of wax on the berries of some species is so considerable that it 

 is technically exploited. The farmers boil the berries with water, strain the 

 hot mixture and allow the melted wax to solidify. The bewy TJDCLX 

 (myrica wax) is of a pale greenish colour and considerably harder than 

 beeswax. Tt is, however, according to an investigation by Dr B. v. d. Riet, 

 not a wax but a fat, consisting of the glycerides of stearic, palmitic and myristic 

 acids. (Trans. S. A. Phil. Soc. Vol. xvi, 443 (1906).) 



Myrica cordifolia, the wax berry bush, is a common shrub of the sandy flats 

 along our southern coast and an important auxiliary in the fixing of the sand 

 dunes, as, when once properly established, it puts a stop to the shifting of the 

 sand by constantly pushing new shoots through the accumulating dune. 



Ulmaceae-Celtideae. 



Celtis. Flowers polygamous; the $ in clusters, calyx mostly 4-parted, 

 the segments concave or boat-shaped, the two outer ones strongly keeled and 

 imbricating the other two, greenish white, with a touch of pink. Stamens 4, 

 inserted under the rudimentary pistil ; $ flower usually solitary near the end of 

 the branches ; stamens as in the male flowers ; ovary pilose, ovate, with two 

 large, papillose, recurved stigmas. Fruit a small, ovoid, 1 -seeded drupe; 

 embryo curved, with folded cotyledons and a small endosperm. 



Celtis Kraussiana. The Camdeboo Stink wood. This appears to be the 

 only S. A. species, as according to Sim the name Celtis rhamnifolia is merely a 

 synonym. The tree reaches a considerable height in the forests of the East, 

 but remains small in the West, e.g. in the ravines of Table Mountain. It is 

 one of the few indigenous arborescent plants of the South West which has 

 deciduous leaves, thereby indicating its eastern origin. 



