FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS 



175 



sepals, five petals, and numerous long slender stamens borne in a ring. 

 The fruit is also large, containing from two to four kidney-shaped 

 nuts or seeds with a flavor somewhat resembling that of the Brazil nut: 

 a superior quality of oil is extracted from them. Fig. 154 shows a flow- 

 ering branch of C. glabrnm and the fruit of C. nuciferum. 



Family Marcgraviaceae. Marcgravia Family. Contains 5 genera 

 and about 40 species, natives of tropical America. They are trees or 

 shrubs, distinguished by the peculiar 

 pitcher-like bracts which often subtend 

 the flowers. In llarcgravia the flowers 

 have the further peculiarity that the 

 corolla is united in one piece (gamopeta- 

 lous) which falls off like a cap. The sta- 

 mens are usually numerous, the ovary 1- 

 celled, becoming capsular in fruit. 



Family Quiinaceae. Quiina Family. 

 A small and unimportant South American 

 family of trees, consisting of two genera 

 and 19 species. 



Family Theaceae. Tea or Ciimellia 

 Family. Contains about 16 genera and 

 160 species, rather widely distributed. 

 They are trees or shrubs with large regu- 

 lar flowers having usually 5 imbricated 

 sepals, 5 j^etals, numerous hj-pogynous 

 stamens and a 2-celled ovary, becoming in 

 fruit a woody capsule. 



The representatives of this family in 

 our territory are shrubs of great beauty 

 when in bloom, their large, solitary white 

 flowers suggesting single roses. There 

 are two genera, Stnartia and Gordonia, 

 both natives of the Southern States, the 

 latter known as the loblolly bay. But it 

 is the genus Tliea (including Camellia) 

 which lends great commercial importance 

 to the family. The genus consists of about 16 species of shrubs, con- 

 fined in the wild state to India, China and Japan, but cultivated in 

 many parts of the world. The flowers are large and handsome, and are 

 succeeded by 3-valved capsules, two of which are shown in the illustra- 

 tion (Fig. 155). 



The process of drying the tea leaves is an elaborate one, and ui)on 

 the methods employed depends the flavor of the final product. The 



Fig. 155. Flowers and fniit of the 

 tea plant ( Thea Sinensis), about one- 

 third natural size. Redrawn frora 

 Enarler. 



