THE DICOTYLEDONES 



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America where the trees often reach a large size. The flowers are greenish- 

 yellow in colour (Fig. 1469) and the fruit is an etaerio of samaras not 

 unlike a pine-cone in appearance. The timber is sold commercially under 

 the name of canary whitewood. 



Fig. 1469. — Liriodendron tuUpifera. Tulip 

 Tree. Flower. 



The genera Drimys and lUicium are now separated by Hutchinson in 

 the family Winteraceae. The former genus contains twenty species which 

 are widely distributed in South America and in Borneo southwards to New 

 Zealand. D. winteri is often grown as a decorative shrub on account of its 

 clusters of white flowers. The bark is used medicinally. Illicium contains 

 the same number of species but is restricted to the Atlantic coastal zone 

 of North America and to south-eastern China: /. veriim, which grows 

 in China, is the source of star anise. Commercial star anise is the fruit 

 and is used medicinally and in liqueurs. The separation of these genera 

 from the Magnoliaceae is based mainly upon the gradual transition from 

 sepaloid to petaloid structures exhibited by the perianth in Illicium and the 

 distinct sepals and petals found in Drimys. 



The two genera Schizandra and Kadsiira are climbers. In the former 

 genus seven species are recognized in the warmer parts of North America 

 and Asia, while in the latter there are eight species restricted to China and 

 Japan. In Kadsura the flowers are unisexual. This genus is also distinctive 

 in having no stipules. Finally we may mention the genus Zygogynum, with 

 fused carpels, which contains only three species all restricted to New 

 Caledonia. 

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