37o 
ELAEOCARPACEAE 
Ions with ventral raphe. Style simple, sometimes lobed at apex. 
Fruit a capsule or drupe. Embryo straight, in abundant endosperm. 
Chief genera: Elaeocarpus, Sloanea, Aristotelia. The E. are united 
to Tiliaceae by Benth.- Hooker and Warming; the grounds upon 
which they are separated in Nat, PJi . are chiefly anatomical. 
Elaeocarpus Burm. ex Linn. Elaeocarpaceae. 60 sp. trop. 
Elaeodendron Jacq. f. Celastraceae. 30 sp. As., Austr., S. Afr., trop. 
Am. Included in Cassine in Nat. PJi . 
Elaphoglossum Schott. Polypodiaceae. 250 sp. trop. Included in 
Acrostichum L. by Hooker. [Christ, Monographie> Zurich, 1899.] 
Elaterium Jacq. Cucurbitaceae (iv). 12 sp. trop. Am. The fruit is 
explosive like that of Ecballium. 
Elatinaceae. Dicotyledons (Archichl. Parietales). 2 gen. with 30 sp. 
trop. and temp. Undershrubs, herbs, or annual water-plants; the 
latter are able to live on land, altering their structure to suit the 
changed conditions (see p. 20 and cf. Littorella, &c.). Leaves opp. 
or whorled, simple with interpetiolar stipules. Firs. £ , regular, 
solitary or in dichasia, 2 — 6-merous. Calyx hypog., free or united. 
Corolla imbricate. Sta. in 2 whorls, or inner aborted. Ovary syn- 
carpous, superior, multiloc.,with simple style. Placentae axile. Ovules 
00 , anatropous. Capsule septifragal. Seed straight or curved. 
Endosperm thin or none. Genera: Bergia, Elatine. Placed in 
Guttiferales by Benth. -Hooker, in Cistiflorae by Warming. 
Elatine Linn. Elatinaceae. 14 sp. trop. and temp. E . hexandra DC. 
and E . Hydropiper L., the water peppers or pipe- worts, in Brit. (rare). 
Elatineae (Benth. -Hooker) = Elatinaceae. 
Elatostema Forst. Urticaceae. 90 sp. trop. As. E. acuminatum 
Brongn. is apogamous (cf. Angiospermae). Some sp. show good 
water secretion from the leaves (p. 1 14). 
Eleocharis R. Br. Cyperaceae (1). 130 sp. cosmop. E. palustris 
R. Br. (spike-rush) is common on turfy moors in Brit. The green 
tissue is centric (p. 182). The tubers of E. tuberosa Schult. (E. As.) 
are used as food. 
Elephantopus Linn. Compositae (1). 20 sp. trop. 
Elettaria Maton. Zingiberaceae. 1 sp. Indo-mal., E. Cardamomum 
Maton. The firs, are borne on leafless shoots from the rhizome. The 
plant is commonly cult, in the mountains of Ceylon and S. India, 
under the name of cardamoms. The ripe fruits are picked and dried; 
the seeds form a strongly flavoured spice, mainly used in India, but 
also to some extent elsewhere, especially of late. 
Eleusine Gaertn. Gramineae (xi). 6 sp. trop. and sub-trop. E. 
coracana Gaertn. (kurakkan or ragi) is extensively cult, as a cereal 
in Ceylon, India, Africa, &c., and others are useful fodders. 
Elisma Buchen. Alismaceae. 1 sp. Eur. (incl. Brit.), Syria, E. natans 
Buchen. 
Elleanthus Presl. Orchidaceae (14). 50 sp. trop. Am., W. Ind. 
