THYMELAEALES

the mezereum order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, comprising the family Thymelaeaceae, with 40 genera of shrubs, some trees, and a few herbs, of nearly worldwide distribution. The order is distinguished by bisexual or separate male and female flowers apparently without petals but with a petallike, tubular calyx (sepals) with four or five spreading lobes. Actually, there are 4 to 12 petals in some, but they are usually reduced to scales at the mouth of the calyx tube. There are usually as many stamens (male pollen-producing structures) as calyx lobes, attached to the inner surface of the calyx tube in alternate positions with the calyx lobes, or there are twice as many stamens as lobes in some. The ovary is positioned above the attachment point of the calyx, and it has one internal chamber (or rarely two) with one ovule per chamber. The largest genera are Pimelea (80 species), Daphne (70 species), Wikstroemia (70 species), Lasiosiphon (50 species), Gnidia (100 species), Daphnopsis (46 species), Struthiola (40 species), Dicranolepis (30 species), Gonystylus (25 species), Phaleria (20 species), Peddiea (20 species), Aquilaria (15 species), and Passerina (15 species). The nearest relatives of the order appear to be the myrtle (Myrtales) and protea (Proteales) orders; its origin stems distantly from the rose order (Rosales). A few species are of horticultural interest. These include the leatherwood (Dirca palustris), a shrub one to 1 1/2 metres (up to 5 feet) high with yellow flowers; the paper tree, or paper bush (Edgeworthia papyrifera), with long white fibres from which a thin, strong paper can be made; the rice flower (Pimelea ferru- ginea), a much-branched, small shrub about one metre high, often grown as a greenhouse plant; and several species of Daphne (q.v.), the most important ornamental genus.