80 



indefinite, arising from the calyx, just within the petals, in aestivation curved inwards; 

 anthers innate, 2-celled, bursting longitudinally. Ovaries superior, either solitary or several, 

 1-celled, sometimes cohering into a plurilocular pistillum ; ovula 2, or more, suspended, very 

 rarely erect ; styles lateral ; stigmata usually simple, and emarginate on one side. Fruit 

 either 1-seeded nuts, or acini, or follicles containing several seeds. Seeds suspended, rarely 

 ascending. Embryo straight, with a taper short radicle pointing to the hilum. and flat coty- 

 ledons. Albumen usually almost obliterated when the seeds are ripe ; if present, fleshy. — 

 Herbaceous plants or shrubs. Leaves simple or compound, alternate, with 2 stipukc at 

 their base. 



Affinities. The genera of this order are uniform in their structure and 

 sensible qualities. Neuradea 3 , at present included, will probably be hereafter 

 removed to a more appropriate station. Distinguished from Pomacere by their 

 superior fruit and usually suspended seeds ; from Leguminosa? by their regular 

 petals and stamens, and especially by the odd segment of the 5-lobed calyx of 

 that order being anterior, not posterior, as in Rosacea? ; from Chrysobalanea? 

 by their styles proceeding from the side of the ovarium near the apex, and not 

 from the base, by their regular petals and stamens, and by their fruit not being 

 a drupe. Amygdaleai, often combined with Rosacea, are particularly charac- 

 terized by their terminal styles, drupaceous fruit, and lrydrocyanic juice, along 

 with which is a formation of gum. Sanguisorbere are apetalous, with definite 

 stamens alternate with the segments of the calyx. Related in many points 

 to Saxifrages. 



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 Leschenaul- 

 tiana, 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 tan- 

 ning in the Feroe Isles. Dec. Potentilla anserina has been used by tanners ; 

 P. reptans as a febrifuge. Ibid. Geum urbanum and rivale have been com- 

 pared, for efficacy, to Cinchona. Ibid. The fruits of many species of Fra- 

 garia (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 Spirrea 

 ulmaria has been used as a tonic. A. R. Agrimonia eupatoria yields a 

 decoction useful as a gargle. Ibid. The root of Rubus villosus is a popular 

 astringent medicine in North America. Two or three teaspoonsful 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 anthehnintica. 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. Sec Brayer's JYotice upon the sub- 

 ject. 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 leucorrhcea, diarrhoea, 

 &c. A. R. 



