406 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURAL ORDERS. 



ed on the outside of a hypogynous disk. Ovary three- to five-lobed, 

 three- to five-celled, with the styles united, or distinct only at the 

 base, or the ovaries nearly separate, during ripening usually sepa- 

 rating into its component carpels, which are dehiscent by one or 

 both sutures. Seeds few or single, mostly with albumen ; and a 

 curved embryo. — Ex. Euta (the Rue), Dictamnus (Fraxinella), of 

 Europe. Diosma and its allies, of the Cape of Good Hope, New 

 Holland, &c., form a group, or suborder (Diosme^) from Avhich the 

 ZANTiioxYLEiE (or Prickly-Ash Family) differs only in being gen- 

 erally dioecious ; but have no claim to be ranked as a distinct order. 

 Strong-scented, bitter-aromatic, often very pungent, from an acrid 

 volatile oil (as Rue and Zanthox^lum) ; also bitter. Some contain 

 a bitter alkaloid, and are febrifugal. Tlie most important is the 

 Galipea, wliicli furnishes the Angostura hark. 



791. Ord. AimcardiaceBB {Cashew FamihJ). Trees or slu-ubs, with 

 a resinous or milky, often acrid juice, which turns blackisli in dry- 

 ing ; the leaves alternate, without stipules, and not dotted. Flowers 

 small, often polygamous or difjccious. Calyx of three to five sepals, 

 united at tlie base. Petals, and usually the stamens, as many as the 

 sepals, inserted into the base of the calyx or into an hypogynous disk. 

 Ovary one-celled, but with three styles or stigmas, and a single ovule. 

 Fruit a berry or drupe. Seed without albumen. Embryo curved 

 or bent. — Ex. Rhus, Anacardium (the Cashew), Pistacia. Chiefly 

 tropical ; except Rhus. The acrid resinous juice is used in var- 

 nishes ; but it often contains a caustic poison. Even the exhalations 

 from Rhus Toxicodendron (Poison Oak, Poison Ivy), and R. vene- 

 nata (Poison Sumach, Poison Elder), as is Avell known, severely 

 affect many persons, producing a kind of erysipelas. Their juice is 

 a good indelible ink for markinsr linen. But the common Sumachs 

 (R. typhina and R. glabra) are innocuous ; their bark or leaves are 

 used for tanning, and their sour berries (wliich contain bimalate of 

 lime) for acidulated drinks. Tlie oily seeds of Pistacia vera (the 

 Pistachio-nut) are edible ; and the drupe of Mangifera Indica 

 (Mango) is one of the most grateful of tropical fruits. Tlie kernel 

 of the Cashew-nut (Anacardium occidentale) is eatable ; and so is 

 the enlarged and fleshy peduncle on which the nut rests : but the 

 coats of the latter are filled with a caustic oil, which blisters 'the 

 skin ; Avliile from the bark of the tree a bland gum exudes. 



792. Ol'di BlirseraceJE, including a great part of Avhat were formerly 

 called Terebinthacese, consists of tropical trees, with a copious resin- 



