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■A 



302 MB. K. A. DALZELL OS THE GENUS MORIXOA. 



bear in mind that wlien another analogous resin, amber, became 

 known and brought into practical use, more than 500 years elapsed 

 before the learned Dr. Goeppert (whilst pointing to its fossil 

 nature) succeeded with some degree of probability in tracing its 

 origin to coniferous trees. 



Eemarks on the genus 3Ioringa. By IN". A. Dajtzell, Esq., 



Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, Bombay. 



[Ecad Dec. 7, ISGo.] 



It is surprising that no botanist who has discussed the affinities 

 of the curious genus Moringa, has noticed the very remarkable 

 resemblance of the ripe capsule to the fruit of the Bignoniace(B. 



In both it is a long slender pendulous capsule, with winged 

 seeds seated in cavities of the corky placenta. Both have exal- 

 buminous parietal seeds, with the radicle next the hilum. 



Though generally the seeds of BignoniacecB are transverse, yet 

 Moringa agrees with the tribe Incarvillew in having the seeds 

 pendulous, while in the amygdaloid character of the cotyledons 

 MoTingn resembles Oxycladus (Miers) and Crescentia. 



In habit, foliage, and inflorescence there is a great resemblance 

 between Moringa and BignoniacecB — so much so that one species of 

 Bignonia is called by De Candolle Moving cef alia. If the leaves of 

 Moringa and MUlingtonia hortensis are placed together, a pecu- 

 liarity is observable common to both, and which is scarcely to be 

 found in any other family. It is this, that the lowest pair of 

 the ultimate pinnul?e are trifoliolate, the odd one being larger 

 than the lateral pair. In Moringa the leaves of the plumule are 

 triternate, and the cotyledons in germination do not rise out of 

 the ground. The leaves of Moringa are alternate ; but they are 



alternate 



structure of the flower in Mor 



point out another feature in the resemblance between this and 

 Bignoniacece^ of no ordinary value, viz. that the testa of the seed 

 (not of the wings) is beautifully reticulated : to observe this, a 

 very thin shaving of the testa must be examined by transmitted 

 light : and this reticulation is one of the marks of the BignoniacecB. 



Description of the flower of Moringa : — 



Calyx with imbricated aestivation, the entire portion cup-shaped, 

 oblique, the anterior being only half the depth of the posterior 

 side. The odd sepal is posterior, and the five divisions reflexed, 

 and coloured as in Eccremocarpus, Fridericia, Solenophoray &c. 



