OLEACEAE 
125 
1. DIOSPYROS L. 
Foliage lustrous, handsome. Calyx and corolla more or less leathery. 
(Greek dios, Jove, and pyros, grain, on account of the edible fruit.) 
1. D. virginiana L. Common Persimmon. Branchlets usually glab¬ 
rous; leaves acuminate; berry smooth, 1.2 to 3.6 cm. broad, not ribbed.— 
Cult, from the eastern U. S. As a winter fruit the dead ripe berry is 
wonderfully delicious, but when green it is puckerv beyond all saying. 
2. D. kaki L.f. Japanese Persimmon. Branchlets appressed brown¬ 
ish-pubescent; berry usually ribbed, 3.6 to 7.2 cm. broad.—Cult, from 
Japan, two of the favored commercial varieties being Hachiya and Fuyu. 
OLEACEAE. OLIVE FAMILY 
Trees or shrubs with opposite leaves. Calyx 4-cleft or none. Corolla 
regular, 4-cleft or 2-petalous or none. Stamens 2. Ovary superior, 2- 
celled, becoming a dry winged fruit or a drupe.—About 400 species of 
temperate and tropical lands. 
Leaves simple: fruit a drupe. 1. Olea. 
Leaves pinnately compound; fruit a samara. 2. Fraxinus. 
1. OLEA L. 
Evergreen trees with simple leaves. Flowers perfect. Corolla short, 
white, 4-cleft. Fruit a drupe with a hard stone. (Classical name for the 
olive.) 
1. O. europaea L. Olive. Leaves lanceolate or somewhat oblong, 
pale, entire, whitish-scurfy beneath; fruit oblong, edible, oily.—Cult, 
from the Levant. The olive has been grown as a food plant from ancient 
times. The Romans valued it highly and dedicated the tree to the god¬ 
dess Minerva. In Cal. the crop averages about 4000 to 8000 tons a year. 
2. FRAXINUS L. Ash 
Deciduous trees or shrubs with pinnately compound leaves. Flowers 
small, in crowded panicles, appearing in spring before the leaves, either 
perfect or with the staminate and pistillate on different plants. Corolla 
none or consisting of 2 distinct petals. Fruit a flattened body with a 
long wing at apex. (The Latin name of the ash.) 
Tree : flowers dioecious ; corolla none ; style conspicuously 2-lobed.1. F. oregaiw. 
Shrub ; flowers perfect; corolla present; style obscurely lobed.2. F. dipetala 
1. F. oregana Nutt. Oregon Ash. Tree 8 to 22 m. high ; leaflets 5 to 
7, 5.1 to 12.2 cm. long; petals none; fruit 3.2 to 5.1 cm. long.—Moist 
valley flats, river banks and canon streams. The wood is hard, coarse¬ 
grained and strong; it is used for wagon parts and implement handles. 
2. F. dipetala H. & A. Mountain Ash. Shrub 1 to 3 m. high; leaf¬ 
lets 3 to 9, 1.9 to 3.8 cm. long; petals 2, white, distinct; fruit 2.5 to 3.2 
cm. long.—Canons and mountain slopes. 
GENTIANACEAE. GENTIAN FAMILY 
Glabrous herbs. Leaves opposite, simple, sessile. Flowers perfect, 
regular, 5 or 4-merous. Stamens inserted on the tube of the corolla, as 
many as its lobes. Ovary superior, 1-celled; style 1 or none ; stigmas 2.— 
Species about 600, distributed over the entire earth, but mostly alpine. 
