&f 



10 MENISPERME^. 



a binary order. Stamens opposite to the corolla (if petals are present, and of the same num- 

 ber) . Ovaries distinct : ovules»-single, lateral. Carpids drupaceous, often incurved : embryo 

 elongated, usually included by an endosperm. — Vines; leaves mostly palmatinerved, without 

 stipules ; flowers small, arranged in axillary racemes or panicles. 



This Order affords different alkaloids, some of them very poisonous, and besides a bitter 

 principle, highly esteemed in medicine ; the root of Cissampelos Pareira (Pareira brava) 

 is employed against various diseases, and especially an antidote to the bite of serpents. The 

 fruit of Abuta (which bears the same vulgar name) is said to have similar properties. 



Tribe I. COCCULEJS. — Carpels 3 (-12), at length campy lotropous. Embryo enclosed 

 by the horseshoe-formed endosperm : radicle pointing towards the suprabasilar rudiment 

 of the style ; cotyledons linear, contiguous. 



1. COCCULUS, DC. 

 (Chondodendron, R. P. Anelasma, Miers, partim. Hyperbsena, Miers.) 



Sepals 6, biserial. Petals 6. <? : Stamens 6. $ : Ovaries 3. Drupes compressed. Seed 

 bent round the projecting plate of the endocarp : endosperm fleshy, not ruminate ; embryo 

 annular, cylindrical, equalling almost the length of the endosperm, and included in its central 

 channel. — Woody vines ; flowers arranged in axillary racemes or racemose panicles. 



The character of the seed is taken from other species, that of the two West Indian species 

 being still unknown. 



Sect. 1. Hyperb^ena. — Anthers (originally 4-celledj bilobed and dehiscent by an 

 obliquely lateral and vertically confluent fissure. Styles cylindrical, uncinate. 



1. C. domingensis, DC. Leaves oblong or elliptical -lanceolate, glabrous, minutely 

 reticulated by the prominent veinlets : two principal veins distant from the base ; petals 

 equalling the stamens; drupes oval-roundish. — Deless. Ic. 1. t. 96. — Anelasma, Miers. A. 

 jamaicense and A. Sellowiauum, Miers! Hyperbsena mexicana, H. Hostmanni, and H. 

 Moricandii, Miers! H. Tweedii, Miers! — Leaves leathery, quite entire, very variable in 

 size and form, l"-8" long : one faint pair of primary veins at the base, but the upper 

 pair more conspicuous and more or less distant from it ; male panicles racemose, slender, 

 fascicled, becoming black by drying ; petals minute, like spathulate scales, opposite to the 

 calyx and to the central stamens ; anthers globose, as long as the thickish filament ; drupes 

 6'" long, 5'" broad : projecting plate of the endocarp laminar, reaching from the base 

 beyond the middle ; seed unknown. — Hab. Jamaica !, Fors., Pd., Al. ; [Haiti ; and Mexico ! 

 to Brazil ! as far as Rio Grande do Sul] . 



Sect. 2. Chondodendron. — Anthers bilocular : cells distant, dehiscent by a lateral 

 $H fissure. Styles foliaceotis, deflexed. 



The fruit of Chondodendron is still unknown, but the differences in the stamens and styles 

 do not as yet justify a generic separation. 



2. C. tamoides, DC. Leaves cordate-triangular, 5-7-nerved, glabrous or minutely 

 pubescent ; racemes slender, simple, exceeding the elongated petiole : flowers distant. — 

 Chondodendron, Miers. Ch. hederifolium and Ch. scabrum, Miers! Cocculus pauper, 

 Gr. : a slightly pubescent form of De Candolle's original species, which is glabrous. — Leaves 

 membranaceous, usually l£"-2" long : petiole 1"-H" long ; petals as large as the inner 

 sepals, obovate ; anther-cells linear, distant, and separated by the broad connective ; ovaries 

 3 : styles obliquely foliaceous. — Hab. Caribbean Islands; [Guadeloupe!; Guiana! toPiauhyQ. 



Tribe II. CTSSAMPELIDEM — Carpel solitary. Embryo enclosed by the horseshoe- 

 formed, thin endosperm : cotyledons linear, contiguous. 



2. CISSAMPELOS, L. 



<? : Sepals 4. Corolla cupuliform, subentire. Stamens 4 : anthers transversely dehiscent. 

 ? : Sepal by the combination of two organs solitary, usually emarginate, supported by a 

 bracteole. Petals 0. Ovary 1 : styles 3. Drupe with the endocarp compressed. — Vines ; 

 male inflorescence compound-corymbose, female racemose., with the flower-fascicles supported 

 by a bract. 



3. C. Pareira, L. Downy ; leaves cordate-rounded ; male corymbs stalked ; bracts of 



