122 



and chalaza are usually distinctly marked upon the testa, and sometimes beau- 

 tifully. Decandolle considers the rind of the Orange to be of a different origin 

 and nature from the pericarpium of other fruit, and more analogous to the torus 

 or disk of Nelumbonese ; but if the ovarium and ripe fruit are compared, it will 

 be readily seen that this hypothesis is untenable, and that there is no difference 

 between the rind of an orange and an ordinary pericarpium. 



Geography. Almost exclusively found in the East Indies, whence they 

 have in some cases spread over the rest of the tropics. Two or three species- 

 are natives of Madagascar ; one is described as found wild in the woods of Es- 

 sequebo ; and Prince Maximilian of Wied Neuwied speaks of a wild Orange of 

 Brazil, called Caranja da terra, which has by no means the debcious refreshing 

 qualities of the cultivated kind, but a mawkish sweet taste. Travels, 76. 



Properties. The wood is universally hard and compact ; they abound in 

 a volatile, fragrant, bitter, exciting oil ; the pulp of the fruit is always more or 

 less acid. Dec. The Orange, the Lemon, the Lime, and the Citron, fruits 

 which, although natives of India, have now become so commom in other coun- 

 tries as to give a tropical character to a European dessert, are the most remark- 

 able products of this order. . If to this be added the excellence of their wood, 

 and the fragrance and beauty of their flowers, I know not if an order more in- 

 teresting to man can be pointed out. The fruits just mentioned are not, how- 

 ever, its only produce. The Wampee, a fruit highly esteemed in China and 

 the Indian archipelago, is the produce of Cookia punctata. The berries of Glyc- 

 osmis citrifolia are debcious ; those of Triphasia trifobata are extremely agree- 

 able. The productiveness of the common Orange is enormous. A single tree 

 at St. Michael's has been known to produce 20,000 oranges fit for packing, ex- 

 clusively of the damaged fruit and the waste, which may be calculated at one- 

 third more. The juice of the Lime and the Lemon contains a large quantity of 

 citric acid. Turner, 632. Oranges contain malic acid. lb. 634. A decoc- 

 tion of the root and bark of iEgle Marmelos is supposed, on the Malabar coast, 

 to be a sovereign remedy in hypochondriasis, melancholia, and palpitation of 

 the heart ; the leaves in decoction are used in asthmatic complaints, and the 

 fruit a little unripe is given in diarrhoea and dysentery. Roxburgh adds, that the 

 Dutch in Ceylon prepare a perfume from the rind ; the fruit is most debcious to 

 the taste, and exquisitely fragrant and nutritious, but laxative ; the mucus of 

 the seed is a good cement for some purposes. Ainslie, 2. 87. The leaves of 

 Bergera Konigii are considered by the Hindoos stomachic and tonic ; an infu- 

 sion of them toasted stops vomiting. The green leaves are used raw in dysen- 

 tery ; the bark and root internally as stimuli. Ibid. 2. 139. The young leaves 

 of Feronia elephantum have, when bruised, a most delightful smell, very much 

 resembling anise. The native practitioners of India consider them stomachic 

 and carminative. Its gum is very like gum arabic. Ibid. 2. 83. 



Examples. Citrus, Limonia, Bergera. 



CIX. SPONDIACEjE. The Hogplum Tribe. 



Sfondiaceje. Kunth in Ann. Sc. Nat. 2. 362. (1824).— TeuebintacejE, trib. 3. Dec. Prodr. 2. 



74. (1825.) 



Diagnosis. Polypetalous dicotyledons, with 10 perigynous stamens, con- 

 crete carpella, a superior ovarium of several cells, regular flowers, an annular 

 disk, solitary pendulous ovula, and alternate pinnated leaves with pellucid dots. 



Anomalies. 



