THE JASMINE FAMILY. 



321 



is scraped off, and after boiling, forms a wax like beeswax or 

 spermaceti. It has been imported to this country, but is too 

 expensive for common use. Several shrubs of this family 

 are said to produce this wax. 



Wax Tree (Ligustrum lucidum). A small tree or hand- 

 some shrub, hardy in this country. It is a native of China. 

 An insect that deposits a wax is said to feed on it. This is 

 well known to be the case with L. Ibota, a native of Japan, 

 which is cultivated for that purpose. 



Tasmanian Iron-wood Tree (Notelcea ligustrind). A native 

 of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. This gene- 

 rally forms a tree 30 or more feet in height, with a trunk 

 sometimes a foot or more in diameter, but is often seen as a 

 bush. Its wood is very hard, and is used for making ship 

 blocks and for other purposes where hardness is required. 

 It is nearly hardy in this country. 



Lecnociera ligustrina. A tree, 40 feet high, native of 

 Jamaica; by some called Jamaica rosewood. The wood is 

 very hard and fragrant, and is excellent timber. 



The Jasmine Family. 



(Jasminace^.) 



Erect trailing or twining shrubs. Leaves opposite or alter- 

 nate winged, or simple, with a joint in the petiole. Flowers 

 axillary or in terminal umbel-like tufts, yellow or white. 

 Corolla spreading, 5 or 8-lobed. Stamens 2. Pistil bifid. 

 Fruit binate, berry-like, as in Jasminum ; or a 2-celled dry 

 capsule, as in Nyctanthes. 



This was originally considered to be a part of Oleaceae, 

 but on account of a slight difference in the structure of the 

 corolla and seed, modern botanists have thought proper 

 to make a separate family of it. The number of species 

 amount to 100 or more, and are widely distributed, different 

 species of Jasminum being natiyes of Europe, India, China, 

 and Australia. 



Jasmine {Jasminum officinale). The native country of the 

 Y 



