FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS 



167 



may be distinguished very easily. 

 They are climbing or erect shrubs 

 with alternate leaves and watery 

 juice. The small greenish flowers 

 are either perfect or dioecious, and 

 are borne in variously shaped 

 clusters. The petals are 4-5, and 

 fall soon after the flower expands. 

 When tendrils are present they 

 are borne apparentlj'^ opposite the 

 upper leaves, the inflorescence 

 being opposite the lower leaves as 

 shown in Fig. 143. These ten- 

 drils, however, are technically re- 

 garded as abortive shoots. 



The Virginia creeper {Par- 



thenOcisSUS quinquefolia) is another Fig. 146. Cyettna orientalh showing flowering 



member of the family, as also the branch and enlarged flower. Original. 



Japanese ivy (P. tricuspidata). 

 The very large genus Cissus 

 is widely represented in trop- 

 ical Asia. 



CHAPTEK XXIV. 



Order Malvales. 



This very distinct order 

 contains eight families, the 

 most important being the 

 Malvaceae or Mallow Family 

 and the Tiliaceae or Linden 

 Family. Like the preceding 

 order they are distinguished 

 mainly by floral characters. 

 The sepals are called by 

 botanists valvate, which 

 means that in the bud before 

 unfolding their edges just 

 meet without overlapping, in 

 which case they would have 

 been imbricated. The valvate 

 sepals may be easily observed 

 in the flower of an^^ common 



Fig. 147. ^\o-v!er oi Hibiscus schizopetalus shovfin^ i'hQ 11 mi i i 



monadelphous stamens. Drawn from a photograph by Mr. DiallOW. llie OVUle-bearmg 



G. N. Collins. walls within the ovary are 



