43-2 
typical suborder, of which the genus under consideration is the only North Ameri- 
can representative. The family is composed of trees, shrubs, or tendril-bearing 
climbers, showing widely different characters of leaf, flower, and fruit; and in- 
cludes the soap-berries, bladder-nuts, and maples. The /eaves are usually alter- 
nate (Exc. Aesculus), simple or compound. flowers mostly irregular and un- 
symmetrical; sepa/s 4-5, imbricate in estivation; feta/s 4-5, alternate with the 
sepals, and sometimes wanting. sk sarcous, regular, expanded, or glandular, 
protruding between the petals and stamens. Stamens 5-10, perigynous or hypo- 
gynous ; /¢/aments free or cohering at their bases; anthers introrse. Ovary 2-3 
celled and lobed ; ovu/es 1-2 in each cell; style simple, or 2-3 cleft. uit a cap- 
sule, samara, or fleshy indehiscent drupe ; eéryo curved or convolute (Exc. Sta- 
phylea) ; a/bumen wanting. 
The plants that are of particular interest to us in this family, beside the two 
under consideration here, are: Guarana or Brazilian Cocoa (Paullinia sorbilis, 
Mart.), and the Brazilian t:mdo-sipo (Paullinia pinnata, D.C). Economically the 
berries of Sapindus saponaria and the bark and roots of other species are used in 
lieu of soap in cleansing woollens. The genus Paullinia contains many species 
in which a deleterious narcotic constituent is developed in the juice or seeds ; the 
native Brazilians prepare a slow but potent and certain poison from Paullinia 
pinnata ; P. australis is supposed to be the origin of a venomous honey found in the 
Brazilian woods; and P. cuvruru yields an arrow poison to the natives of Guiana, 
who also prepare a narcotic intoxicating drink from P. cu‘ana. The products of 
-most species of this order are to be regarded with suspicion, yet the Chinese 
Lee-chee (Nephelium Lichti) and Longan (Nephelium Longan) are delicious fruits ; 
the Brazilian /ruta de Pavao (Schmidelia edulis) is sweet and palatable ; and the 
Jamaica wing-leaved honey-berry (Melicocca bijugis) edible, sub-acid, and pleas- 
ant. The berries of many species of the genus Sapindus are edible, though the 
seeds, used by the natives of the country of their growth to poison fish, are active 
narcotic toxicants. 
. History and Habitat.—The horse chestnut is a native of Asia; it was intro- 
duced into Europe about the middle of the sixteenth century by seed, and first 
cultivated in England by Tradescant in 1633 ;* after this its growth became quite 
general, as the tree accommodates itself quickly to all temperate regions. It is 
‘one of our first trees to bud in the spring, and flowers in April and May, its fruit 
being fully ripe at the first autumn frost. Being one of our most dense shade 
trees, dark, cool, and clean, it is extensively planted in the yards and along the 
streets of almost every American city and village. The nuts are eaten greedily 
by horses, sheep, goats, cows, and pigs, and form an excellent fattening food for 
those animals when prepared in such a manner as to drive off the acrimony. This 
is best accomplished by boiling them in potash and washing them with water. 
Germination, however, renders them pleasant food through change of the bitter 
principles to saccharine, a result similar to that produced in malting barley. The 
* Woodville. 
