CROSSANDRA 
34i 
Crataegus Tourn. ex Linn. [United to Mespilus in Nat . Pfl, The 
boundaries of these two genera and of Pyrus are ill-defined.] Rosa- 
ceae (11. 4). About 100 sp. N. temp. C. Oxyacantha L. (hawthorn 
or may) in Brit. The thorns are modified branches. The wood is 
regarded as a good substitute for that of box in engraving, &c. 
Crataeva Linn. Capparidaceae (ill). 10 sp. trop. 
Cratoxylon Blume. Guttiferae (11). 12 sp. Indo-mal. 
Crepis (Vaill.) Linn. (incl. Barkhausia Moench). Compositae (xm). 
220 sp. N. Hemisph. 6 in Brit, (hawk’s beard). Like Hieracium. 
Crescentia Linn. Bignoniaceae (iv). 5 sp. trop. Am. The firs, are 
borne on old stems (p. 156) and are succeeded by the gourd-like 
berries. The epicarp is woody and after removal of the pulp forms 
a useful calabash (C. Cnjete L., the calabash tree, is most used). 
Criirnm Linn. Amaryllidaceae (1). 70 sp. trop. and sub-trop., chiefly 
on sea-coasts. Large and handsome bulbous plants with showy firs. 
(? visited by humming-birds). The seed of C. asiaticum L., accord- 
ing to Goebel ( Pflanzenbiol . Schild. 1. p. 128), has only a very thin 
corky covering and is adapted to distribution by water and early 
germination. The ovule has no integuments, and the want of a testa 
is replaced by a formation of cork at the outside of the endosperm. 
Cristaria (Heist.) Cav. Malvaceae (11). 25 sp. Chili, Peru. 
Crithmum Linn. Umbelliferae (6). 1 sp., C. maritimum L., the 
samphire, on rocky coasts, Medit., Eur. (incl. Brit.). It has much 
divided and very fleshy leaves (p. 186). It is used for making 
pickles. 
Crocosmia Planch. Iridaceae (in). 1 sp., C. aurea Planch., trop. and 
S. Afr. United to Tritonia in Nat. PJl . 
Crocus (Tourn.) Linn. Iridaceae (1). 60 sp. Medit., Eur., 2 sp. 
naturalised in Brit. Below ground is a corm, covered with a few 
scaly leaves, in whose axils may arise one or more buds, giving rise 
to new corms on the top of the old. The leaves are dorsiventral, and 
curiously grooved on the back. The flr. is often single and terminal ; 
in some sp. there is a small cyme of firs. The tube of the perianth 
is so long that the ovary remains below the soil and is thus protected 
from the weather (cf. Colchicum). The flr. is protandrous and visited 
by bees and Lepidoptera. Honey is secreted by the ovary, and the 
anthers face outwards so as to touch any insect alighting on the 
petals and seeking honey. The stigmas are branched. Birds often 
bite off the firs, in gardens (? for honey); they seem to prefer the 
yellow firs., leaving the blue and white alone. [See Schumann in 
Bot. Zeit. 1894.] 
The dried stigmas of C. sativus L. form saffron, once largely used 
as an orange-yellow dye, but now chiefly employed in flavouring 
and colouring dishes, liqueurs, &c. [See Kronfeld’s Geschichte des 
Safrans & c., Wien 1892, or Beih . z. Bot. Centr ., 1893, p. 71.] 
Crossandra Salisb. Acanthaceae (iv. b). 17 sp. trop. As., Afr., 
