133 



the sarcocarp of each cell opens from above inwards, following a longi- 

 tudinal furrow, which had become visible some time previously. Its inner 

 surface is seen to be covered by projecting lignified vessels, which are 

 directed obliquely from the inner edge towards the outer, and are indicated 

 externally by some transverse projections. The endocarp is loose in the 

 inside of the shell, unless at its membrane, by means of which it continues 

 to preserve some degree of adhesion with the other parts ; but it soon opens, 

 the two valves separate in different directions, and force out the seeds. 

 When this separation takes place, the membrane is torn all round, and 

 either falls away or sticks to the seed. In the latter case it is found 

 attached to the hilum, if one seed only has ripened ; but then in removing 

 it, the remains of the abortive ovule may be found on one side. If both 

 seeds have arrived at maturity, they are usually seen one resting on the 

 other by their contiguous flattened extremities, and the membrane extends 

 along their inner edge, being enlarged at their point of contact, where two 

 transverse prolongations are perceptible." 



M. A. de Jussieu then proceeds to point out the inaccuracy of call- 

 ing, with some, this endocarp an arillus, — a name which, as Auguste St. 

 Hilaire somev^^here remarks, has been applied to as many different things 

 as the Linnean term nectarium ; or, with others, applying the same name 

 to the persistent membrane. 



Diosmeae are nearly related to Rutaceae, from which they differ in the 

 remarkable structure of their fruit, and in having two ovula in each cell ; 

 with Humiriacece they have an analogy through the tribe called Cuspa- 

 riese, some of which have monadelphous stamens ; with Aurantiacese they 

 agree in their dotted leaves, definite stamens, occasional production of 

 double embryos, fleshy disk, and sometimes in habit in the tribe of Cus- 

 pariese. Xanthoxyleae and Simarubacese accord with them in a multitude 

 of points. 



Geography. One genus, Dictamnus, is found in the south of 

 Europe. The Cape of Good Hope is covered with different species of 

 Diosma and nearly allied genera ; New Holland abounds in Boronias, 

 Phebaliums, Correas, Eriostemons, and the like ; great numbers inhabit the 

 equinoctial regions of America. 



Propeuties. The Diosmas, or Bucku plants, of the Cape, are well 

 known for their powerful and usually offensive odour ; they are recom- 

 mended as antispasmodics. The American species possess, in many cases, 

 febrifugal properties. There is an excellent bark of this nature, used by the 

 Catalan Capuchin friars of the missions on the river Carony in South 

 America, called the Quina de la Guayna, or de la Angostura, or Angostura 

 bark : this, which has been successively ascribed to Brucea ferruginea and 

 two species of Magnolia, is now known to be the produce of Cusparia febri- 

 fuga (Bonplandia trifoliata W.), a plant of this family. Humb. Cinch. 

 For. p. 38. Eng. ed. Evodia febrifuga, one of the Quinas of Brazil, has 

 a bark so powerfully febrifugal as to compete with that of Cinchona. A 

 bark much spoken of by the miners of Brazil, under the name of Casca 

 de larangeira da terra, and in which Cinchonine was detected by Dr. 

 Gomez, probably belongs to this tree. PL Usuelles, no. 4. One of the 

 Quinas of Brazil is the Ticorea febrifuga: its bark is a powerful medicine in 

 intermittent fevers. Ibid. 16. Hortia Braziliana possesses similar proper- 

 ties, but in a less degree. Ibid. 17. An infusion of the leaves of Ticorea 

 jasminiflora is drank in Brazil as a remedy for the disease called by the 

 Brazilian Portuguese Bobas, and by the French Framba?sia. A. St. Hil. 

 Hist. 141. Dictamnus abounds in volatile oil to such a decree, that the 



