76 MB. 6. BENTHAM ON BIXACEJI AND SAMYDACEiE. 



Blume under the name of Pangiacea?, without otherwise modi- 

 fying its general limits, retaining in it Banara and its allies, which 

 have decidedly perigynous stamens. It is, probably, this perigy- 

 nous character of the latter genus which has induced Grisebach, 

 in his ' Flora of the British AVest Indies ' and ' Erlauterungen 

 ausgewahlter Pflanzen des tropischen Amerikas,' and Harvey, in 

 his 'Flora Capensis,' to bring Samydeae into the same group. 

 Harvey, moreover, connecting these with such Homalinese as have 

 an entirely free ovary, includes also the whole of the latter group 

 under one Order of Bixacese. The course we propose to adopt is 

 so far to follow these authors as to unite DeCandolle's four 

 Orders into two ; Bixacese with hypogynous, and Saniydacese with 

 perigynous stamens; transposing from the former to the latter 

 the genus Banara, in which the perigynous character is very 

 decided, and accompanied by others derived from the floral enve- 

 lopes. These accessory characters will also assist' us in classing 

 some other genera whose staminal insertion is somewhat ambi- 

 guous. 



The Order Bixace m, thus constituted, has for its chief prevail- 

 ing characters indefinite hypogynous stamens, a compound uni- 

 locular ovary with parietal placentas, anatropous ovules, and a 

 straight embryo immersed in a fleshy albumen. The sepals are 

 imbricate or open in the bud ; the petals, when present, much im- 

 bricate, and larger, more petaloid and more deciduous than the 

 sepals, or passing gradually into them. The stem is woody, the 

 leaves alternate, the stipules small and usually deciduous. Three 

 small exceptional genera have definite or subdefinite stamens, two 

 have a curved embryo, two have the placentas united in the axis ; 

 all, however, are here admitted on account of a combination of 

 other characters which render them inseparable from undoubted 

 Bixaceous genera. 



The Samydace.e, extended as we propose so as to include Ho- 

 malmea?, have indefinite or more or less definite perigynous sta- 

 mens, with the ovary and embryo of Bixacea?. The sepals are 

 valvate or slightly imbricate ; the petals, when present, regularly 

 alternate with the sepals, are of a nearly similar consistence, and 

 persist with them so as to have been usually described as an inner 

 series of sepals. The stem is woody, with alternate leaves, and 

 small, usually deciduous stipules, as in Bixacea?. 



The most important characters distinguishing the Orders nearest 

 allied to Bixacea; or Samydaeeie are the exalbuminous curved em- 

 bryo and usually dimerous flowers of Capparidea?, the orthotropous 



