67 



pendulous, without albumen ; embryo with the radicle turned towards the hilum ; plnmuln 



inconspicuous ; cotyledons leafy, usually convolute, occasionally plaited Trcen or skrubx. 



Leaves alternate or opposite, without stij)ulse, entire. Spikes axillary or terminal. 



Affinities. " These may be placed indifferently in the vicinity of 

 SantalacetE and Eleeagnese, or of Onagrariae and Myrtaceae, approaching 

 the former by the apetalous genera, and the latter by those which have, 

 petals." Dec. To Myrtacese and Melastomacese they are related through 

 Memecyleoe, and especially to the former, by Punica, with which they agree 

 in the structure of their embryo. In the latter respect, they also accord 

 with Rhizophorece and Vochyacese ; and with Alangiese and Onagrariae in 

 the general structure of the flower. With Santalaceae and Eloeagneae the 

 ajjetalous genera agree in many important particulars. 



Decandolle has two sections : — 



I. Terminalies. 



Embryo cylindrical, elliptical. Cotyledons rolled spirally. Calyx 5-cleft. 

 Petals often wanting. Stamens 10. 



2. CoMBRETE.'E. 



Embryo cylindrical, elliptical, or angular. Cotyledons thick, plaited 

 irregularly and longitudinally. Calyx 4-6-cleft. Petals 4-5. Stamens 8-10. 



Geography. All natives of the tropics of India, Africa, and America. 

 No species is extra- tropical. 



Properties. Mostly astringents. Bucida Buceras yields a bark used 

 for tanning. Terminalia Vernix is said to furnish the Chinese varnish, the 

 juice and exhalation of which are poisonous ; but this is at least doubtful. 

 The bark of Conocarpus racemosa, one of the plants called Mangroves in 

 Brazil, is used greatly at Rio Janeiro for tanning. Pr. Max. Trav. 206. 

 The fruit of the Terminalia bellerica, or the Belleric Myrobalan, is an 

 astringent, tonic, and attenuant. Ainslie, 1. 236. That of the Terminalia 

 Chebula is much more astringent. The bark of Terminalia alata is astrin- 

 gent and antifebrile. Ibid. 2. 193. The fruit of Terminalia Chebula, as 

 well as the galls of. the same plant, are very astringent, and highly valued 

 by dyers : with alum they give a durable yellow, and with a ferruginous 

 mud an excellent black. Ibid. 2. 128. The root of T. latifolia is given in 

 Jamaica in diarrhcea. Ibid. 



Examples. Combretum, Bucida, Terminalia. 



LVIIT. ALANGIEiE. 



Alangie^, Dec. Prodr. 3. 203. (1828.) 



Diagnosis. Polypetalous dicotyledons, with numerous perigynous sta- 

 mens, concrete carpella, an inferior ovarium with several cells, definite 

 pendulous ovula, exstipulate leaves, flat cotyledons, and linear petals. 



Anomalies. None. 



Essential Character Ca/y.r superior, campanulate, 5-10-toothed. Petals 5-10, 



linear, reflexed. Stamens long, exserted, 2 or 4 times as numerous as the petals ; filaments 

 distinct, villous at the base ; anthers adnate, linear, 2-celled, turned inwards, often empty. 

 Disk fleshy at the base of the limb of the calyx. Drupe oval, somewhat crowned by the 

 calyx, fleshy, slightly ribbed, and downy; nucleus 1-celled, bony, with a foramen at the 

 apex. Seed 1, or according to Rheede 3, inverted, ovate ; albumen fleshy, brittle; embryo 

 straight ; radicle long, ascending ; cotyledons flat, foliaceous, cordate-f)vate — Large Trees. 

 Branches often spiny. Leaves alternate, without stipule, entire, without dots. Flowers 

 fascicled, axillary. Fruit eatable. 



