on the Origin of the Botanical Alliances. 253 



naceae and Limnanthaceae, and places them also among Gy- 

 nobaseosa*. 



Cistales.— The Cistales of Dr. Lindley are Elatinaceae, 

 Linaceae, Hugoniaceae, Chlenaceae, Cistaceae, Reaumuri- 

 aceae. 



Brassicales. — This alliance was established by Dr. Brown, 

 Resedaceae being here removed, and Tremandraceae being 

 added. Bartling's Rhceada: are Tremandreae, Polygaleae, 

 Resedaceae, Fumariaceae, Papaveraceae, Cruciferae, Cappari- 

 deae; stress being laid upon the intervalvular placentation. 

 The miscellaneous Brevistylce of Agardh include Brassicales, 

 Polygalaceae, &c, but without Tremandraceae: "fractious so- 

 litariis brevistylis, stigmate suborbiculato ; stylus o vel brevis 

 et quasi acumen germinis ; stigma orbiculatum, et peltatum 

 vel capitatum." 



Nymph^ales. — The Bandies of Dr. Lindley are Ranun- 

 culaceae (Podophylleae), Papaveraceae (Fumarieae), Nym- 

 phaeaceae (Hydropeltideae), Nelumbiaceae, Cephalotaceae 

 (Dionaea). 



Avenales. — The Glumacece of Reichenbach are Gramineae 5 

 Cyperoideae, Commelinaceae {Restioneae (Lilaea), Xyrideae 

 (Aphyllanthes, some Liliaceae), Philydrinae, Xyphidieae (Fla- 

 gellaria), Pontedereae, Commelineae}. The Glumosce of Dr. 

 Lindley take nearly the same range. 



Typhales. — The Spadicosce of Dr. Lindley are Panda- 

 naceae, Cyclanthaceae, Araceae, Acoraceae, Typhaceae, Naia- 

 daceae, Juncaginaceae, Pistiaceae. 



July 13, 1837. 



In a note upon Sir E. Ffrench Bromhead's former paper, inserted in our last 

 volume, pp. 48, 137, the agreement of some of the principles of arrangement ad- 

 vocated by the author with those enunciated by Mr. Win. S. Macleay was briefly 

 pointed out. It may tend to preserve the interest now taken in the subject, if 

 some further points of coincidence between the views of classification which have 

 arisen in the mind of one naturalist from the investigation of the animal kingdom, 

 and those which have been presented to that of another from the investigation of 

 the vegetable kingdom, be also noticed. It is observed in the preceding paper, 

 under the head ' Lycopooiales,' p. 247 — 8, that " All the'great transitions in na- 

 ture are through small families, in which the structure seems to want breadth, 

 or what mechanicians would call stable equilibrium." Taking " families" to mean, 

 merely, in this place, comparatively smaller groups than those which they are the 

 means of uniting, the passage here cited is an accurate statement of the nature 

 and characters of what have been termed by Mr. Macleay, Osculant groups. The 

 want of " breadth," or " stable equilibrium " in their structure, is the consequence 

 of their being the means of transition from one type to another, and uniting, 

 therefore, in themselves, the structures of the groups which they thus connect. 

 In the animal series, as Mr, Macleay has remarked, the osculant groups which 

 unite the primary divisions are, comparatively, very imperfect beings j the result, 

 doubtless, of the blending in them of the structure* belonging to two distinct 

 types.— E. W. B. 



