CENT A UREA 
3°3 
Celba Medic. = Eriodendron DC. ( C . pentandra Gaertn. = E. anfractuo- 
sum; C. Casearia Medic. =E. orientale). 
Celastraceae. Dicotyledons (Archichl. Sapindales). About 38 gen. 
with 280 sp., trop. and temp. Trees or shrubs with simple, often 
leathery, leaves andcymose (rarely racemose) infl. Fir. small, regular, 
usually ^ . K 4 — 5, free or united, C 4 — 5. There is usually a well 
marked disc, on the upper side or edge of which are borne 4 — 5 sta. 
Ovary superior, of 2 — 5 cpls., usually with as many loculi, sometimes 
partly sunk in the disc. Ovules generally 2 in each loc., usually erect, 
anatropous or apotropous. Fruit a loculicidal capsule, samara, drupe, 
berry or indehiscent capsule. Seed usually with brightly coloured 
aril. Endosperm usually present. Chief genera: Euonymus, Celas- 
trus, Cassine. Placed in Celastrales by Benth. -Hooker, in Frangu- 
linae by Warming. 
Celastrales (Benth. -Hooker). The 9th cohort of Polypetalae (p. 134). 
Celastrineae (Benth. -Hooker) = Celastraceae. 
Celastrus Linn. Celastraceae. Over 40 sp. As., Austr., Polynes., N. 
Am. Climbing shrubs with fruit like Euonymus. 
Celmisia Cass. Compositae (iv). 27 sp. N. Z., &c. 
Celosia Linn. Amarantaceae (1). 35 sp. trop. and temp. The most 
interesting is C. cidstata L., the Cock’s-comb, a cultivated (but now 
hereditary) monstrosity, in which fasciation (p. 23) of the firs, of the 
infl. occurs. 
Celsia Linn. Scrophulariaceae (1. 1). 37 sp. Medit., Afr., As. 
Celtis Tourn. Ulmaceae. 60 sp. N. temp, and trop. Like Ulmus, 
but with introrse anthers, a drupe fruit, and a curved embryo. The 
fruit of the nettle-tree ( C . australis L.) is eaten in Spain, &c. The 
wood of this sp. is useful for turning, and the tree is also used as a 
fodder-plant in India. 
Cenchrus Linn. Gramineae (v). 12 sp. trop. and warm temp. The 
spikelet is surrounded by an involucre of sterile spikelets, which in 
some sp. become hard and prickly, surrounding the fruit and acting 
as a means of distribution by animals (cf. Tribulus, &c.). C. tribti- 
loides L. is a very troublesome pest in the wool-growing districts of 
N. Am. 
Cenia Comm, ex Juss. Compositae (vn). 9 sp. S. Afr. Included in 
Cotula Linn, in A 7 at. PJl. 
Centaurea Linn. Compositae (xi). 470 sp. chiefly Medit. ; a few in 
Eur., As., trop. Afr., Am., Austr. Several in Brit. e.g. C. nigra 
L. (knapweed), C. Scabiosa L., C. Cyanus L. (blue-bottle or corn- 
flower). In the last two the outer firs, are neuter with enlarged 
corolla (cf. Hydrangea). C. Calcitrapa L. (star-thistle) has long 
spiny involucral bracts. The flr. of C. shows the usual construction 
but the sta. are sensitive to contact and when touched [e.g. by insects 
probing for honey) contract, thus forcing out the pollen at the top of 
tube. In C. montana L. and other sp. there is a nectary on each 
