_tie-oblong, obtuse or’ subacute, downy, ‘at length glabrous, 
- thea Kraussiana, Hochst. in Pl. Krauss. No. 352, 
66 -BIXACEZ (Harv.) _ [Oneoba. 
Found throughout the tropics, and in subtropical regions of both hemispheres, % 
no where very plentiful. Perhaps 150 species may be known, arranged under 52 
genera. The fruits of several are edible. The most generally known is Bixa Orel- 
lana, whose angular seeds are covered with an orange-red pulpy coat, which fur- 
nishes the substance called Arnotto, used in the preparation of chocolate, and for 
dying cheeses, &c. The affinities of this Order are generally considered to be to- 
wards Passifloracez, to which they are allied through Smeathmannia, and to Samy- 
daceze, from which they chiefly differ in the direction of the embryo in the seed. I 
venture to add Homalimec, usually considered a distinct Order, but only to be known 
by its more or less perigynous stamens and adnate ovary, characters which are here | 
of as little ordinal value as in Saxifragacew. Through Dovyalis and Aberia there 
is an unexpected passage almost into Euphorbiacex. 
TABLE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GENERA. 
Tribe IL. Procktraz. Flowers bisexual, rarely polygamous. Style co- 
lumnar or short. /’rwit fleshy, indehiscent. Ovary superior. 
I. Oncoba.—Sepals 5, deciduous. Petals 5, spreading, deciduous. : : 
II. Rawsonia.—Sepals 4-5, persistent. Petals deciduous. A petaloid-scale opposite 
each petal. Stigma subsessile 4—5-fid. : 
III. Phoberos.— Calyx persistent, deeply 10-12-fid, in two rows ; the inner segments 
smaller. 
Tribe II. Kiccrnartex. Flowers unisexual. Ovary superior. Styles 
as many as the carpels. wit dehiscent or indehiscent, 
* Anthers opening by longitudinal slits. 
IV. Trimeria.— Calyx 6-10 parted, in two rows. 
V. Dovyalis.—Calyx 5-7 parted in a single row. Seeds smooth. 
VI. Aberia.—Calyx 5—7 parted, in asingle row. Seeds woolly. 
** Anthers opening by terminal pores. 
VII. Kiggelaria._Calyx 5 parted. Petals 5. 
Tribe ITT. Homarinex. Flowers bisexual. Styles as many as the 
earpels. Ovary half-inferior. 
VIII. Blackwellia.—Perianth with a conical tube, and a 10-30-fid limb ; the seg- 
ments in two rows. 
- J, ONCOBA, Forsk. 
Flowers bisexual. Sepals 5, deciduous, concave, strongly imbricated 
in the bud. Petals 5, hypogynous, clawed, obovate, spreading, decidu- 
ous. Stamens very numerous, inserted, in many rows, on a fleshy, hy- 
pogynous ,ring; filaments filiform ; anthers linear, two-celled, bast- 
fixed, erect, opening at the sides. Ovary free, one-celled ; placente 
parietal, 5~10, bearing numerous ovules. Style cylindrical, stigma di- 
lated, notched. Berry leathery, pulpy within ; seeds numerous. i. 
Gen. No. 5067. Lam. Dict. t. 471. 3 > 
Shrubs or small trees, natives of tropical and subtropical Africa, spinous or wn- | 
armed, with alternate exsti leayes, and terminal, solitary white flowers of : 
large size (for this Order). e name is an alteration of the Arab Onkob, by which 
the species of North Africa is known. 
‘1. O. Kraussiana (Planch. in Herb. Hook.) ; unarmed ; leaves ellip- 
very entire ; 
peduncles terminal or opposite the leaves ; anthers 
* 
