CHAP. XCVII.
.ELTEAGNA'CE/E. .ELjEa'gNUS.
1321
surrounds the style of an abortive pistil. — Species several; arborescent
or shrubby; inhabitants of_Ceylon, Nepal, Japan, south of Europe , andNorth America . The fleshy part of the fruit is, in some, eatable. Leavesalternate, entire, bearing, as does the bark of growing shoots, scales, or starsof hairs. Flowers axillary, pedicelecl. (Chiefly T. Nees ab Esenbeclc, Gen.Pl. FI. Germ., whose elucidation relates to E. angustifolia L.; Lindley; andAch. Rich.')
T/ippo'piiab L. Flowers unisexual, those of the two sexes upon distinct
plants_Male flower. Calyx arched, seeming as if constituted of 2 leaves
connate at the tip. Stamens 4, not extended out of the calyx. — Femaleflower. Calyx tubular, cloven at the top, including the ovary, and becom-ing eventually succulent. Ovary of 1 cell. Ovule 1. Style short. Stigmalong, with a longitudinal furrow. Fruit consisting of a polished achenium,that has a slight furrow on one side, and of the calyx, now enlarged, andsucculent with an acid juice. Seed erect. Embryo erect.—Two speciesare known, one wild in Europe, the other in Nepal. The European one ispartially spiny. Both have leaves narrow, entire, scaly, and silvery, es-pecially beneath. The succulent part of the fruit is eatable. (T. Nees abEsenbeclc, Gen. PI. El. Germ.; Smith, Eng. Flora ; and obs.)
Shephe'rd-M Nutt. Flowers unisexual; those of the two sexes upon distinctplants. — Male flower. Calyx 4-cleft. Stamens 8, included, as to length,within the calyx; alternate with 8 glands.— Female flower. Calyx bell-shaped, its limb 4-parted, flat, the portions equal; its tube ? adnate to theovary. Ovule 1. Style 1. Stigma oblique. Fruit as in Ffippophae.—Twospecies are known, both natives of North America , and having the aspect of-Klseagnus; one a small tree, the other a shrub. Their leaves are entire, andbear scales. Male flowers ? laterally aggregate, in groups that resemblea catkin. Female flowers smaller than the male ones, shortly pedunculate(Nutt. Gen.)-, racemose at the ends of the branches (Lindley in Encyc. ofPI.; Nuttall.).
Genus I.
Identification. Tourn. Cor., 51. j Ach. Rich. Monogr., p. 26. j T. Nees ab Esenbeck, Gen. PI. FIGermanics ; N. Du Ham., 2. p. 87.
Synonymes. Chalef, Fr.; Wilde Oelbaum, Ger.
Derivation. “ The elaiagnos of Theophrastus was a plant with hoary leaves, growing in marshyplaces in Arcadia, and was probably a species of £&lix, although certainly not S. babylonica, askprengel has stated it to be. It was named from its resemblance to the elaia, or olive, from whichit differed in not bearing fruit. Dioscorides writes elceagros, which means the wild olive; andsome botanists have adopted this reading, which is most likely the true one. The plants to whichthe name Flaagnus is now applied are also something like the olive. The French call the El&kg .nus, chalef j a slight alteration, according to Golius, of khaltf, the Arabic name of the willow:Dut more^p^bably of kalaf, the Persian name of the Flas&gnus itself.” ( Lindley in Bot. Reg .,t. U56, adapted.) Oleaster is a Latin word, which is interpreted a wild olive tree j and perhapsit is derived from olea t an olive tree, and instar , likeness.
Description, §c. Deciduous shrubs, or low trees; natives of the south of
Europe, the Levant, the Himalayas, and North America . In British gardens,there are two or three species which grow freely in any soil tolerably dry, andare readily propagated by seeds, layers, or cuttings.
S 1. E. horte'nsis Bieb. The Garden Elaeagnus, Oleaster, or WildOlive Tree .