Mi-ris-ti-ka'se-e. L. Myristic-a + aceae, fr. Gr.

23 Myristicaceae Nutmeg Family 289

to anoint i. e., an ointment used for its sweet odor. Trees. Distinguished by aromatic properties; leaves dotted, entire, stalked, leathery; flowers regular, dioecious, calyx 3-4-cleft, leathery, inferior; filaments 3-12, united, ovary 1-celled, ovule 1; fruit succulent, seed oily; tropics; aromatic, seeds the strongest; bark and pericarp acrid. Genus: 1. Myristica.