224 FLORA OF JAMAICA Bocconia 



Shrub 3-10 ft. high. Leaves, outline oblong-elliptical, base wedge- 

 shaped, pinnatifid, lobes subentire, sparingly denticulate, upper leaves on 

 the intlorescence entire, oblong or elliptical, repand or denticulate, on 

 upper surface glabrous, young leaves densely tomentose beneath, but 

 older leaves only tomentose along the nerves and puberulous on the veins, 

 1-2 dm, 1. ; petioles 1-5-3 cm. 1., tomentose, more or less glabrescent. 

 Panicles 2-5-4 dm. 1. Sepals 6-9 mm. 1. Stamens nearly equalling the 

 sepals ; anthers 4-5 mm. 1. Style protruding, about 2 mm. 1., stigmatic 

 branches longer, revolute. 



The juice of the root is acrid and bitter, and has been used in cases of 

 chronic ophthalmia, and for warts and ring- worm. " The root scraped and 

 beat up into a pulp is an excellent application to foul ulcers " (Macfadyen). 



Family XXXI. CAPPARIDACE^. 



Annual herbs, shrubs or trees, with watery juice. Leaves 

 alternate, simple or digitately compound. Stipules often present. 

 Flowers hermaphrodite, regular or irregular. Sepals 4, free 

 or more or less united. Petals 4. Stamens numerous, or, if 

 few, not tetradynamous. Ovary stalked, rarely sessile, 1 -celled 

 or several-celled, w^th numerous campy lotropous ovules on parietal 

 placentas. Fruit a 2valved many- seeded capsule or a berry. 

 Seed wich curved embryo ; endosperm wanting. 



Species 450, dispersed through tropical and subtropical 

 regions. 



Herbs (sometimes shrubby). Fruit a capsule. 

 Stamens free. 



Stamens 4-6 1. Cleome. 



Stamens 8-30 2. Polanisia. 



Stamens attached to the gynophore 3. Gynandropsis. 



Trees or shrubs. Fruit a berry. 



Leaves simple 4. Capparis. 



Leaves 3-foliolate 5. Cratceva. 



1. CLEOME L. 



Herbs or somewhat shrubby plants. Leaves simple or 

 3-7-foliolate. Calyx with 4 teeth or lobes, or sepals 4, free. 

 Petals sessile or clawed. Receptacle short. Stamens 4-6. 

 Fruit a capsule. Seeds kidney-shaped. 



Species 70, in subtropical and tropical regions, specially 

 numerous in America, Arabia and Egypt. 



Leaves compound. 



Stipular prickles 2. Leaflets 5-7. 



Gynophore much longer than the pedicel 1. C. spinosa. 



Gynophore much shorter than the pedicel 2. C. Houstounii. 



Without prickles. Leaflets 3. 



Leaflets quite glabrous. Gynophore wanting 



or very short 3. C. serrata. 



[Leaflets minutely or obsoletely ciliolate. Gyno- 

 phore -5-1 cm. 1 C. ciliata.] 



Leaves simple, small 4. C. procwniheyis. 



