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Thymelaeaceae (from the generic name Thymelaea, a Greek name meaning thyme + olive or oil). Mezereum Family. Fig. 42. Shrubs or trees, rarely herbs: leaves alternate or opposite, simple, entire: flowers bisexual or unisexual, regular, receptacle developed into a long tube which bears appendages in the throat; perianth undifferentiated, often petaloid, parts 4-5, imbricated, perigynous; stamens as many as the sepals and alternate with them, or twice as many, or reduced to 2, perigynous; ovary superior, 1-celled, rarely 2-celled; ovule solitary, pendulous; style 1 or 0, stigma 1: fruit indehiscent, a nut, drupe, or berry; rarely a capsule.
About 37 genera and 425 species are widely distributed over the earth. One species is native in northwestern North America. The largest genera are Gnidia with 80-90 species, and Pimelea with 75 species. The family stands between the Myrtiflorae and the Cactales, and also somewhat suggests the Passifloraceae. The single perianth, the tubular receptacle, perigynous, definite stamens, the appendages in the tube of the receptacle, and the superior 1-celled, 1-ovuled ovary are distinctive.
Gnidia carinata of South Africa and Daphne Mezereum (mezereon) of Europe have been used as a purge; as has also the spurge flax (Daphne Gnidium) of South Europe, the caustic juice of which is used in a blistering ointment. A blistering principle is obtained from the bark of Funifera utilis of Brazil; also from Dirca palustris. The roots of Thymelaea tinctoria yield a yellow dye. Paper is made from the cauline fibers of several species, e.g., Daphne cannabina of India, Dirca palustris of the United States, Gnidia of Madagascar, and Lagetta of Jamaica. Cord is made from Lagetta funifera and L. lintearia of South America. The wood of Aquilaria Agallocha of India is aromatic, called aloewood. One Pimelea yields a balsam. Lace-bark is the product of Lagetta lintearia.
Six or more genera are in cultivation in this country for ornament. Among these are: Daphne (Mezereon), greenhouse and garden; Dirca (Leatherwood, Moose-wood), native, hardy; and Pimelea (Rice Flower), greenhouse.
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