26 
Dicotyledons witfi Polypetcdous Flowers. 
Natural Order 
CELASTRINEiE. Tab. 26. 
Diagnosis.- -Shrubs or trees with opposite or alternate leaves. Flowers 
small, regular. Stamens perigynous, alternate with the petals, inserted into 
or around a fleshy disk. Ovary free or immersed in the disk, 3-5-celled. 
Distribution.— A considerable Natural Order, generally diffused through tropical and subtropical 
regions. The only British species extends eastward to Western Asia. 
One British Gen.us ; Species, i. 
Calyx small, with 4-5 overlapping lobes. 
Petals and Stamens as many as calyx-lobes. 
Disk various ; in Spindle-tree (Euonymus europceus) conical and confluent with the ovary. 
FRUIT in Spindle-tree a crimson capsule, dehiscing loculicidally. 
Seeds albuminous ; in Spindle-tree enclosed in an orange-coloured aril. 
USES, &c.—The Order is not of economic importance. Charcoal suited for drawing is prepared from the 
wood of Spindle-tree. Catha edulis , an Abyssinian and Arabian species, is regarded as an antidote to plague, and 
the leaves are chewed as a stimulant. A few species are cultivated in shrubberies. 
