26 
III. THEOPHRA'STA (so named from Theophrastus, the 
father of naturalhistory.) Juss.gen. Lin.spec. Lindl. coll. t. 26. 
Li. svsr. — Pentándria, Monogiynia. Calyx campanulate, 
cartilaginous ; segments elliptic-oblong, with erosely-toothed 
edges. Corolla campanulate, with a short tube, a dilated penta- 
gonal throat, and a spreading limb; throat girded by an elevated, 
angularly-lobed, fleshy, arched ring. .Stamens 5, combined with 
the tube of the corolla; anthers furnished with a beak-formed, 
obtuse appendage. Style attenuated ; stigma capitate. Berry 
spherical, crustaceous, many-seeded, bursting irregularly ; seeds 
half immersed in the placenta.— This is a small tree, with a 
simple, unbranched stem: furnished with a tuft of long, evergreen 
leaves at top, somewhat in the manner of a palm tree. Leaves 
alternate, crowded so as to appear somewhat verticillate, almost 
sessile, oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous, stiff, glabrous, pale green, 
a foot or a foot and a half long, with undulated, dentately 
spinose margins, usually truncate at the base and apex, paler 
beneath, very smooth, with a very thick midrib: having the 
veins hardly evident, except in the dried state. Flowers 
terminal, racemose ; racemes numerous, many-flowered, hidden 
among the leaves, very short, hardly 2 inches long. Corolla 
white. Berry size a crab apple, yellowish. 
1 T. Jussreu's: (Lind. coll. t. 26.) h.S. Native of St. Do- 
mingo, on the mountains. Th. Americana, Lin. spec. 1. p. 212.? 
Swartz, obs. p. 58. Th. Henrici, Hamilt. prod. fl. ind. occ. p. 
Erésia foliis aquifolii longissimis, Plum. gen. p. 8. t. 28. icon. 
t- 126.7? 
Jussieu's Theophrasta.  Fl.? Clt. 1818. Tree 10 feet. 
Cult. A small tree, handsome on account of its long, holly- 
like leaves. A mixture of peat, loam, and sand, answers it 
well; and cuttings, having the leaves remaining on entire, will 
take root readily in sand, under a hand-glass, in heat. 
THEOPHRASTE/E. III. Turopurasta. 
IV. ONCE NUS (from oykwoc, onkinos, a hook ; in reference to 
the segments of the corolla being hooked.) Lour. coch. p. 123. 
Lin. syst. Pentándria, Monogynia. Calyx tubular, 5-notched. 
Corolla funnel-shaped, fleshy ; limb 5-parted : segments obtuse, 
all hooked to one side, emarginate; crown 5-cleft, in the 
mouth of the tube. Filaments fixed to the middle of the tube. 
anthers simple. Ovarium globose. Style short. Stigma acute. 
Berry globose, large, shining, 1-celled, many-seeded. Seeds 
small, roundish, nestling in the pulp.—A climbing shrub. Leaves 
ovate-lanceolate, entire, glabrous, shining, opposite.? Flowers 
white, in long, racemose, terminal corymbs. Berry red, edible, 
sweet, and somewhat astringent. 
1 O. Cocwincutne’nsis (Lour. |. c.) b. G. Native of 
Cochinchina. ^ Theophrásta Cochinchinénsis, Spreng. syst. 1. 
$671: 
Cochin-china Oncinus. Shrub cl. 
Cult. See Theophrásta above for culture and propagation. 
V. LEO'NIA (named after Don Francisco Leon, a great 
promoter of the sciences, who by his munificence assisted in 
bringing out some volumes of the Flora Peruviana.) Ruiz. et 
Pav. fl. per. et chil. 2. p. 69. t. 222. Mart. nov. gen. bras. 2. 
p. 86. t. 200. f. 4. in letterpress. Steudélia, Mart. l. c. in tab. 
168 and 169. 
Liv. syst.  Pentándria, Monogynia. Calyx small, 5-lobed, 
deciduous, with scarious edges. Corolla rotately sub-campanu- 
late. Stamens 5, combined into a pentagonal, cup-shaped tube, 
inclosing the pistil. Anthers didymous, 2-celled. Berry corti- 
cate, l-celled. Seeds many, oblong, attached to parietal placen- 
tas, (ex Mart. 1. c.) nestling in the pulp.—Trees with alternate, 
coriaceous leaves, on short petioles, entire, full of pellucid dots, 
glabrous. Flowers cream coloured, full of glandular dots, dis- 
posed in axillary racemes or cymes. 
T2 
IV. Onctnus. V. Leonra.—SAPOTACEÆ, 
1 L. racemòsa (Mart. nov. gen. bras. 2. p. 86. t. 168, and t. 
200. f. 4. under Steudèlia, in tab.) leaves oblong, ending in a 
short, acute point; flowers disposed in drooping, compound, 
aggregate racemes. k.S. Native of Brazil, on the banks of 
the Amazon, at Serpa; and of Peru. L. glycicárpa, Ruiz. et 
Pav. fl. per et chil. 2. p. 69. t. 222. Corolla yellow, with obo- 
vate, concave segments. Seeds obovate. 
Racemose-flowered Leonia. Tree 30 to 40 feet. 
2 L. cvwósA (Mart. l. c. 2. p. 88. t. 169. under Steudélia, 
in tab.) leaves oblong, acuminated at both ends; cymes of 
flowers bifid, erect. h.S. Native of Brazil, in the province 
of Rio Negro, at Ega, in woods. Seeds oblong. 
Cymose-flowered Leonia. Tree 10 to 15 feet. 
Cult. For culture and propagation see Theophrásta above. 
Orpver CXLV. SAPOTA'CEE. 
p. 151. R.Br. prod. p. 528. 
Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx divided, regular, permanent. 
Corolla monopetalous, hypogynous, regular : having the segments 
equal in number to the divisions of the calyx, rarely double or 
triple that number, deciduous. Stamens epipetalous, definite, 
distinct ; fertile ones equal in number to the segments of the 
calyx, rarely more, and opposite them, but alternating with the 
segments of the corolla; sterile ones equal in number to the 
fertile ones, and alternating with them, sometimes wanting. An- 
thers usually behind. Ovarium many-celled; cells 1-seeded. 
Ovula erect. Style 1; stigma undivided, sometimes lobed. 
Berry many-celled, or only 1-celled from abortion. Seeds 
nucumentaceous, sometimes combived into a many-celled puta- 
men; testa bony, sbining, with the front more or less scraped 
away, and opaque. Embryo erect, white, large, usually inclos- 
ed in fleshy albumen. 
nished with albumen, and fleshy in those without, sometimes 
connate ; with a short straight or a little inclined radicle, looking 
Sapóte, Juss. gen. 
Cotyledons foliaceous in those seeds fur- 
towards the hilum, and an inconspicuous plumule.— Exotic trees 
or shrubs, the greater part natives within the tropics, most of 
which are milky. Leaves alternate, exstipulate, quite entire, 
coriaceous. Inflorescence axillary. 
This order is more nearly allied to Ebendcee than to any 
other, but differs from it in the species being milky, in the wood 
being soft, in the stamens being definite, in the flowers being 
hermaphrodite, in the style being undivided, in the cells of the 
ovarium being always 1-seeded, in the ovula being erect, in the 
testa of the seeds being bony, and in many other characters. 
The plants containe1 in this order are chiefly valuable for their 
fruit, which in many cases contribute richly to the dessert. 
Mimüsops Eléngi, Imbricaria, Commersónii, and Argania Side- 
réxylon are all of this description; the star-apples of the West 
Indies, the produce of several species of Chrysophiyllum, and par- 
ticularly of C. Cainito, are esteemed delicious; and the medlars, 
lucumas, and sapotillas of equinoxial America, all the fruit of 
different kinds of A’chras are among the most valuable pro- 
ductions of the Western world. The seeds of all the order are 
oily; those of A‘chras sapóta are accounted diuretic and ape- 
rient. ‘Their oil is not fluid, but so concrete as to have the ^ 
appearance and consistence of butter, whence the name of butter- 
tree has been applied to different species, both in India and 
