ER YTHRINA 
380 
Erythrina Linn. Leguminosae (ill. 10). 30 sp. trop. and subtrop. 
E. crista-galli L. is a favourite in cultivation. Its bright red firs, are 
inverted ; the wings are nearly aborted ; the keel forms at its base a 
honey sac. Probably humming-birds are the visitors. E. indica 
Lam. is largely planted as a shade for coffee and other plants, and as 
a support for pepper. E. caffra Thunb., the Kaffir-boom, furnishes 
a very light timber. 
ErythrocMton Nees et Mart. Rutaceae (v). 5 sp. trop. Am. The 
infl. springs from the surface of a leaf, owing to adnation (p. 30). 
Erythronium Linn. Liliaceae (v). 7 sp. N. temp. 
Erythrophleum Afzel. Leguminosae (11. 1). 5 sp. Afr., China, 
N. Austr. E . guineense G. Don is the red-water tree of Sierra Leone. 
“The bark is a powerful poison and is used by the native tribes as 
an ordeal. A red juice flows from the tree, which is used for the 
same purpose. ,, 
Erythroxylaceae. Dicotyledons (Archichl. Geraniales). 2 gen. with 
90 sp. trop. Nearly allied to Linaceae, in which they are placed by 
Benth. -Hooker. Fir. regular, $ ; K 5, C 5, A 5+5 united at base, 
G (3 or 4), usually i-loc. Ovules 1 or 2, pendulous. Drupe. Endo- 
sperm. Chief genus : Erythroxylum. 
Erythroxylum P. Br. Erythroxylaceae. 90 sp. trop. and subtrop., 
chiefly Am. E. Coca Lam. (Peru), the coca, is the chief sp. The 
leaves are infused like tea or chewed with lime and enable the person 
using them to undergo great fatigue. Cocaine, used as a local 
anaesthetic, is prepared from them. Many sp. have heterostyled firs. 
Escallonia Mutis. Saxifragaceae (v). 50 sp. S. Amer., chiefly Andine. 
Shrubs with alternate, leathery, gland-dotted leaves. Ovary inferior, 
2 — 3-loc., with twice as many placentae and 00 ovules. 
Escalloniaceae (Warming). An order of Saxifraginae, included in 
Saxifragaceae by other authors. 
Esclischolzia Cham. Papaveraceae (2). 10 sp. western U.S., often 
cultivated as border flowers. The receptacle is concave, so that the flr. 
is perigynous. In dull weather each petal rolls up on itself, enclosing 
and protecting some of the sta. The ripe fruit explodes and scatters 
the seeds ; each valve as it dries has a tendency to roll up spirally, 
and thus a great tension is set up (p. in). 
Esenbeckia H. B. et K. Rutaceae (v). 10 sp. trop. Am., W. Ind. 
Espeletia Mutis. Compositae (v). 1 1 sp. Andes. Characteristic plants 
of the alpine region (Paramo). Aloe-like xerophytes with dense 
covering of hairs (see Goebel, Pfianzenbiol. Schild.). 
Eucalyptus L’Herit. Myrtaceae (2). 200 sp. Austr., 2 or 3 Indo-mal. 
One of the most characteristic genera of the Austr. flora (blue-gum, 
iron-bark, stringy bark, blood-wood, &c.). Some sp. reach an enor- 
mous size, e.g. E. amygdalina Labill. which has been found 300 ft. 
high and 22 ft. in girth. The leaves at first formed are opposite and 
dorsiventral, the later ones alternate and isobilateral, and thus more 
