5 



Affinities. It is unnecessary to insist upon the relation of this order and 

 Araliacae, which scarcely differ. With Saxifrages it agrees in habit, if Hydro- 

 cotyle is compared with Chrysosplenium, and if the sheathing and divided 

 leaves of the two orders are considered. To Geraniaceae, Decandolle remarks 

 that they are allied, in consequence of the cohesion of the carpella around a 

 woody axis, and of the umbellate flowers which grow opposite the leaves, and 

 also because the affinity of Geraniaceae to Vites, and of the latter to Araliacea, 

 is not to be doubted. To me it appears, that the most certain affinity of Umbel- 

 liferae is with Renunculacea?, with which they agree in habit, in properties, in 

 the presence of a large quantity of albumen, of solitary seeds in the carpella, 

 a minute embryo, and distinct styles ; and from which they differ in their infe- 

 rior fruit and definite perigynous stamens, rather than in any thing else of real 

 importance. The arrangement of this order has only within a few years ar- 

 rived at any very definite state ; the characters upon which genera and tribes 

 could be formed were for a long while unsettled : it is, however, now generally 

 admitted, that the number and development of the ribs of the fruit, the pre- 

 sence or absence of reservoirs of oil called vittae, and the form of the albumen, 

 are the leading peculiarities which require to be attended to. Upon this sub- 

 ject see Koch's Dissertation, Lagasca in the Otiosas Espanolas and Decan- 

 dolle's JHemoire, — especially the last. I do not give the characters of the sub- 

 orders or tribes, because they are rather to be considered artificial divisions than 

 natural groups. 



Geography. Natives chiefly of the northern parts of the northern hemis- 

 phere, inhabiting groves, thickets, plains, marshes, and waste places. Accord- 

 ing to the investigation of M. Decandolle, the following is the proportion of 

 the order found in different parts of the world : 



In the Old World . ... 663 ) f 



In America 159 f \ In the northern hemisphere 679 



In Australia 54 i \ In the southern ditto 205 



In scattered islands . . 14 ) ' 



Properties. The properties of this order require to be considered under 

 two points of view : firstly, those of the vegetation ; and, secondly, those of the 

 fructification. The character of the former is, generally speaking, suspicious, 

 and often poisonous in a high degree ; as in the case of Hemlock, Fool's Pars- 

 ley, and others, which are deadly poisons. Nevertheless, the stems of the Ce- 

 lery, the leaves of the Parsley and Samphire, the roots of the Skirret, the Car- 

 rot, the Parsnep, and the tubers of CEnanthe pimpinelloides and Bunium bulbo, 

 castanum, are wholesome articles of food. The fruit, vulgarly called the seeds, 

 is in no case dangerous, and is usually a warm and agreeable aromatic, as Cara- 

 way, Coriander, Dill, Anise, &c. From the stem, when wounded, sometimes 

 flows a stimulant, tonic, aromatic, gum resinous concretion, of much use in me- 

 dicine ; as Opoponax, which is procured from Pastinaca opoponax in the Le- 

 vant, and Assafoetida from the Ferula of that name in Persia. Gum ammoniac 

 is supposed to be obtained from Heracleum gummiferum. It is a gum resin of 

 a pale yellow colour, having a faint but no unpleasant odour, with a bitter, 

 nauseous taste. Internally applied, it is a valuable deobstruent and expecto- 

 rant. It is said by Dr. Paris to be, in combination with rhubarb, a useful me- 

 dicine in mesenteric affections, by correcting viscid secretions. Ainslie, 1. 160. 

 The substance called Galbanum is produced by some plant of this order, which 

 is supposed to be what botanists call Bubon Galbanum. It is a stimu- 

 lant of the intestinal canal and uterus, and is found to allay that nervous 

 irritability which often accompanies hysteria. Ainslie, I. 143. /Ethusa 

 Cynapium has been found by Professor Ficinus, of Dresden, to contain a pe- 

 culiar alkali, which he calls Cynopia. Turner, 654 The fruit of Ligusti- 



