82 



petals and stamens, and by their fruit not being a drupe. Amygdaleae, 

 often combined with Rosaceoe, are particularly characterised by their 

 terminal styles, drupaceous fruit, and hydrocyanic juice, along with which 

 is a formation of gum. Sanguisorbese are apetalous, with definite stamens 

 alternate with the segments of the calyx. Related io many points to 

 Saxifrageae. 



Geography. Natives chiefly of the temperate or cold climates of the 

 northern hemisphere ; a very few are found on high land within the tropics, 

 and an inconsiderable number in the southern hemisphere. Only one species 

 is found in the West Indies, viz. Rubus jamaicensis ; thirteen are natives 

 of high land in the East Indies, within the tropics, viz. Potentilla Lesche- 

 naultiana, and twelve species of Rubus; the South American species 

 chiefly consist of a few kinds of Rubus ; at the Cape of Good Hope 

 the order is unknown. 



Properties. No Rosaceous plants are unwholesome ; they are chiefly 

 remarkable for the presence of an astringent principle, which has caused 

 some of them to be reckoned febrifuges. The root of Tormentilla is used 

 for tanning in the Feroe Isles. Dec. Potentilla anserina has been used 

 by tanners ; P. reptans as a febrifuge. Ibid. Geum urbanum and rivale 

 have been compared, for efficacy, to Cinchona. Ibid. The fruits of many 

 species of Fragaria (Strawberry) and Rubus (Raspberry and Blackberry) are 

 valuable articles of the dessert. The leaves of Rubus arcticus and Rosa 

 rubiginosa have been employed as substitutes for Tea. Ibid. The roots of 

 Gillenia trifoliata and stipulacea are emetic, and perhaps tonic. Barton, 

 1. 69. They are used in the United States as Ipecacuanha. Dec. The 

 • root of Spiraea ulmaria has been used as a tonic. A. R. Agrimonia eupa- 

 toria yields a decoction useful as a gargle. Ibid. The root of Rubus villosus 

 is a popular astringent medicine in North America. Two or three tea- 

 spoonsful of the decoction, administered three or four times a-day, has 

 been found useful in cholera infantum. Barton, 2. 157. One of the 

 most powerful anthelmintics in the world belongs to this family. It is an 

 Abyssinian plant, known to botanists by the name of Brayera anthelmin- 

 tica. Upon the authority of Dr. Brayer, after whom it is named, two or 

 three doses of the infusion are sufficient to cure the most obstinate case 

 of taenia. See Brayer s Notice upon the subject. The various species 

 of Rosa form some of the greatest beauties of the garden. The fruit of 

 R. canina and other allied species is astringent, and employed in medicine 

 against chronic diarrhoea and other maladies. The petals of R. damascena 

 yield a highly fragrant essential oil, called Attar of Roses ; those of R. 

 gallica are astringent when dried with rapidity, and are sometimes found 

 useful in cases of debility, such as leucorrhoea, diarrhoea, &c. A. R. 



The following divisions have been established among Rosaceous plants : 



1. § PoTENTiLLEyx. CinquefoHs. 

 S Potentillae, Juss. Gen. 337. (1789.) — § DryadefcVewi. Tabl. 3. 349. 

 (1799) ; Dec. Prodr. 2. 549. (1825.) — Fragariacctc, Rich, in Nestl. 

 Potentill. (1816); Lijidl. Sijuops. 90. (1829.) 

 Fruit consisting either of small nuts or acini, arising from a common 

 receptacle, and invested with a dry permanent calyx. Calyx either 4- or 

 5-cleft, sometimes bearing hracteolce on its tube e(|ual in number to the 

 segments, and alternate with them. Petals 5. Seed solitary, erect, or 

 inverted. — Mostly herbaceous plants, very seldom shrubs; leaves usually 

 compound ; stipulte adhering to the petiole. 

 Examples. Potentilla, Fragaria, (Jeum. 



