672 MALPIGHIACEAE 



rowly spindle-shaped, distinct. Anthers introrse. Gynoecium of 2 united car- 

 pels. Ovary ovoid, 2-celled. Styles united. Stigma very short. Ovules numer- 

 ous, horizontal or pendulous in several rows, anatropous. Fruit a 2-celled berry 

 tipped with the persistent style, Avith a thin fleshy pulp. Seeds 1-several in 

 each cavity, cochleate, with a wrinkled striate crustaceous testa. Endosperm 

 thin, striate. Embryo coiled. 



1. KOEBERLINIA Zucc. 



Characters of the family. JuNCO. 



1. Koeberlicia spinosa Zucc. An intricately branched almost leafless shrub or small 

 tree, sometimes 8 m. tall, the branches all ending in firm thorns, clothed with a bright 

 green puberulent bark. Leaves reduced to small scales : flowers in short lateral racemes i 

 pedicels slender, 2-6 mm. long : sepals 4, imbricated, ovate, 1 mm. long, obtuse : petals 4, 

 oblong, fiddle-shaped, 2.5 mm. long, obtuse or notched at the apex : stamens 8, shorter 

 than the petals : filaments enlarged at the middle : ovary short-stalked : berries subglobose, 

 about 6 mm. in diameter, black, apiculate, fleshy. 



In rocky or gravelly places, in the valley of the Rio Grand and its tributaries. Spring. 



Family 7. MALPIGHIACEAE Vent. Malpigia Family. 



Shrubs or trees, or shrubby herbs, with erect or climbing stems. Leaves- 

 mostly opposite : blades entire : stipules sometimes present. Flowers usually 

 perfect, of various colors, solitary or in terminal racemes, corymbs or umbel-like 

 clusters. Calyx of 5, usually imbricated, sepals. Corolla of 5 mostly equal 

 clawed, convolute petals, or rarely wanting. Androecium of 5-10 perfect or 

 partly sterile stamens. Filaments often united at the base. Anthers 2-celle(l, 

 often with enlarged connectives. Gynoecium of 2-4, or usually 3, distinct or 

 united carpels. Ovary 1-celled, sometimes crested. Styles sometimes united. 

 Ovules solitary in each cavity, nearly orthotropous. Fruit of 2-3 pulpy or hard 

 drupes, or sometimes capsular or nut-like. Seeds pendulous. Endosperm want- 

 ing. Embryo straight or curved, with thick often unequal cotyledons, 



stamens 10 : styles 3, distinct. 



Sepals with glands : fruit drupaceous. 



Filaments pubescent at the base : fruit of 3 united carpels. 1. Byrsonima. 



Filaments glabrous : fruit of 3 distinct carpels. 2. Malpighia. 



Sepals gJandless : fruit capsular. 3. Thryallis. 



Stamens 5-6 : styles united. 4. Aspicarpa. 



1. BYRSONIMA L. C. Eich. 



Shrubs or trees, with erect, prostrate or climbing stems. Leaves opposite : blades 

 leathery, simple : stipules present. Flowers in terminal, simple or compound racemes. 

 Sepals 5, each furnished with two glands. Petals 5, glabrous, reflexed, clawed : blades 

 concave. Stamens 10 : filaments short, bearded at the united base. Carpels united. Ovary 

 3-celled : styles 3, distinct : stigmas acute. Drupe pulpy, 3-celled, stone bony or woody, 

 angled. Seeds subglobose. 



1. Byrsonima Ivicida (Sw. ) DC. An erect evergreen much -branched shrub, with 

 pale bark and sparingly pubescent inflorescence, otherwise glabrous. Leaf-blades leathery, 

 spatulate or obovate-spatulate, 2-4 cm. long, rounded at the apex, bright green and lus- 

 trous above, dull beneath, short-petioled : racemes terminal, erect, 2-4 cm. long : petals 

 white, turning to yellow or rose, 7 mm. long ; claws slender, 3 mm. long ; blades reniform, 

 undulate, 5-6 mm. broad : drupes subglobose, glabrous, 4-6 mm. in diameter, greenish. 



In sand, peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in the West Indies. 



2. MALPIGHIA L. 



Shrubs, with glabrous foliage, or clothed with medifixed hairs. Leaves opposite, with 

 small stipules : blades without glands, petioled. Flowers regular, generally in umbels 

 terminating axillary peduncles. Sepals 5, all or most of them with a pair of thick glands 

 on the back. Petals 5, reddish or purplish, not yellow. Stamens 10, all perfect : fila- 

 ments glabrous at the base. Ovary 3-celled, sessile : styles 3, distinct : stigmas truncate. 

 Fruit of 3 distinct carpels, each crested on the back. Embryo straight. 



