214 . 



EssENTiAi. Character Calyx divided in 5, persistent. Corolla monopetalous, 



hypogynous, regular, 5-lobed, with contorted aestivation, deciduous. Stamens 5, arising 

 from the corolla, with whose segments they are alternate. Filaments distinct. Anthers 

 2-celled, opening lengthwise. ' Pollen granular, globose, or 3-lobed, immediately applied to 

 the stigma. Ovaria 2, or 1 2-eelled, polyspermous. Styles 2 or 1. Stigma 1. Fruit a 

 follicle, capsule, or drupe, or berry, double or single. Seeds with fleshy or cartilaginous 

 albumen ; testa simple ; embryo foliaceous ; plumula inconspicuous ; radicle turned towards 



the hilum Trees or shrubs, usually milky. Leaves opposite, sometimes whorled, seldom 



scattered, quite entire, often having ciliae or glands upon the petioles, but with no stipulse. 

 Inflorescence tending to corymbose. 



Affinities. These are strongest with Asclepiadeae, in which they have 

 already been discussed ; otherwise they lie between Cinchonaceae and Gen- 

 tianese. From Cinchonaceae they are distinguished by their superior ovarium, 

 contorted flowers, and absence of stipulee ; in room of which are, however, 

 sometimes produced certain cilise, or other appendages of the petiole, which 

 the inexperienced observer may mistake for stipulse. The same characters 

 divide them from Gentianeae ; and 1 think the combination of these peculia- 

 rities is sufficient to destroy all doubt about the limits of any of these orders. 

 From Potaliese and Loganiese they are distinguished almost entirely by the 

 perfect symmetry of the calyx, corolla, and stamens, and the want of true 

 stipulse. 



I agree with Von Martins, Brown, and other botanists, who consider 

 Strychnese a mere section of Apocynese, rather than a distinct order : it 

 differs chiefly in its peltate naked seeds and simple succulent fruit. In 

 consequence of its ciliated petioles, I am unwilling to refer Gardneria to 

 Loganiese. 



Plumieria is the most succulent genus of the order. 



Geography. Natives of nearly the same localities as Asclepiadeae, 

 with the exception that they are less abundant at the Cape of Good Hope. 



Properties. Not very different from those of Asclepiadeae, but per- 

 haps rather more suspicious. The order contains species with the same pur- 

 gative, the same acrid, the same febrifugal qualities. The bark of Cerbera 

 Manghas is purgative ; that of Echites antidysenterica is astringent and 

 febrifugal. The leaves of Nerium Oleander contain an abundance of 

 gallic acid ; the Vahea of Madagascar and Urceola elastica a notable 

 quantity of caoutchouc. The fruit of the succulent-fruited genera is eme- 

 tic ; and yet that of Carissa edulis is eaten in Nubia. Delile Cent. II, 

 The bark of the root and the sweet-smelling leaves of Nerium odorum are 

 considered by the native Indian doctors as powerful repellents, applied ex- 

 ternally. The root, taken internally, acts as a poison. Ainslie, 2. 23. 

 It would seem, from an examination by Mr. Arnott of flower-buds of a 

 milk-tree called Hya-hya in Demerara, that this remarkable vegetable pro- 

 duction belongs to this order. It is described by Mr. Smith, its European 

 discoverer, to yield a copious stream of thick, rich, milky fluid, destitute of 

 all acrimony, and only leaving a slight clamminess upon the lips. A tree 

 which was felled on the banks of a small stream had completely whitened 

 the water in an hour or two. Mr. Arnott calls it Tabcrnaemontana utilis. 

 Jameson s Journal, Ap. 1S30. The milk has been analysed by Dr. Christison, 

 who finds it to consist of a small proportion of caoutchouc, and a large pro- 

 portion of a substance possessing in some respects peculiar properties, which 

 appear to place it intermediate between caoutchouc and the resins : it pro- 

 bably, therefore, has no nutritive qualities. Ed. N. Ph. Journ. June 1830, 

 p. 34. The Cream fruit of Sierra Leone belongs here; birdlime is obtained in 

 Madagascar from the Voacanga ; and the caoutchouc of Sumatra is produced 

 by the genus Urceola. Broivn in Congo, 449. The root of Plumeria obtusa is 

 used as a cathartic in Java. Aivslie, 2. 137. The Conessi Bark of the British 



