166 Mr. J. Miers on the Affinities of the Olacacese. 



said to be partly inferior, but probably not so at an early period. 

 The disposition to produce red dots in all parts of the plant in 

 Liriosma, as in the Myrsinacece, is common to several families of 

 the Thalamiflorce of DeCandohVs arrangement. Some degree 

 of analogy may also be perceived between the Myrsinacece and 

 the Anonacece, Lardizabalacece, and Menispermacece, in the de- 

 velopment of the ovule, in the arilliform growth of the placentary 

 indusia, as constantly witnessed in the two former families, and 

 frequently in the latter, and in the deeply concave hilum, formed 

 by the increment of the seed around the placenta, which is drawn 

 into its cavity, and the consequently somewhat arcuate direction 

 of the embryo within the albumen, seen more especially in the 

 tribe Heteroclinece among the latter family. There are other 

 considerations to be held in view, that the Primulacece, Myrsi- 

 nacece, and Theophrastacece, offer a free central placenta within the 

 ovarium, without any appearance of parietal septa, or any con- 

 nexion of the placenta with the style : we see also in the Illici- 

 bracece, Mesembryanthacece, and Portulacacece, a somewhat ana- 

 logous development ; but in these cases we cannot imagine this 

 to be the result of the rolling up of the placentary margins of one 

 or more carpellary leaves, according to the hypothesis generally 

 entertained ; but we may rather conceive, that the margins of the 

 carpellary leaves constituting the ovarium have not the power of 

 developing ovuliferous placentae, a power seemingly there con- 

 fined to the rudimentary petiolar support or gynophorus, which 

 throws out its placentary threads, that are free in Portulacacece, 

 &c, but confluent in Primulacece, Myrsinacece, Theophrastacece, &c. 

 This view is confirmed by the appearance of the lengthened 

 thread that grows up from the torus with the elongation of its 

 seed, and its placentary attachment, in the instance of JEgiceras. 

 We may therefore look upon this mode of development as the 

 opposite extreme of the case of the multilocular ovarium, where 

 its intrafolded placentations unite in a central axis ; and we may 

 look upon the Olacacece, Styracece, &c, as forming an interme- 

 diate state of development. Under such an hypothesis, keeping 

 in view the considerations before mentioned, it would tend to 

 a more natural division of the system, to remove all the several 

 orders, from the Lentibularice to the Styracece, from the position 

 assigned to them in the arrangement of the ' Prodromus.' Yet 

 because the development of the ovaria in these instances may be 

 traced to somewhat similar causes, it does not necessarily follow 

 that they must all be allied together, for other considerations of 

 equal moment may tend to keep them far apart. Thus from 

 circumstances before enumerated, the Styracece and Myrsinacece 

 might be associated with the Olacacece and Santalacece, between 

 Bei'beridacece and Rhceades, in a group that might be called Cio- 



