Essential Character.— Sepals 5, continuous with the pedicel, persistent, unequal, the 

 three inner with a twisted {estivation. Petals 5, hypogynous, very fugitive, crumpled in aesti- 

 vation, and twisted in a direction contrary to that of the sepals. Stainens indefinite, hypogy- 

 nous distinct ; anthers innate ; stigma simple. Ovarium distinct, 1- or many-celled ; ovu/a with 

 the foramen at their apex ; style single. Fruit capsular, usually 3- or 5-valved, occasionally 10- 

 valved, either 1-celicd with parietal placenta; in the axis of the valves, or imperfectly 5- or 

 10-celled with dissepiments proceeding from the middle of the valves, and touching each other 

 in the centre. Seeds indefinite in number. Embryo inverted, either spiral or curved in the midst 

 of mealy albumen. — Shrubs ur herbaceous plants. Branches often viscid. Leaves usually en- 

 tire, opposite or alternate, stipulate or exstipulate. Racemes usually unilateral. Flowers 

 white, yellow, or red, very fugacious. 



Affinities. Distinguished from Violaceoe, with which they were formerly 

 confounded, by their indefinite stamens and inverted embryo ; from Bixinese 

 by this last character, by their mealy albumen, habit, and not having the leaves 

 ever dotted ; from Hypericinese by the latter character, and the structure of their 

 fruit. 



Geography. S. Europe and the north of Africa are the countries that Cis- 

 tineae chiefly inhabit. They are rare in North America, extremely uncommon 

 in South America, and scarcely known in Asia. 



Properties. None, except that the resinous balsamic substance, called 

 Labdanum, is obtained from Cistus creticus. 



Examples. Gistus. Helianthemum. 



CXXXV. BIXINESE. The Arnotto Tribe. 

 Bixineje, Kunth Diss. Malv. p. 17. (1822) ; Dec. Prodr. 1. 259. (1824.) 



Diagnosis. Polypetalous dicotyledons, with indefinite hypogynous sta- 

 mens, concrete carpella, a 1 -celled ovarium with narrow parietal pfacentEe, 4-7 

 sepals, and an erect embryo. 



Anomalies. Corolla often wanting. 



Essektial Character.— Sepals 4-7, either distinct or cohering at the base, with an imbri- 

 cated aestivation. Petals 5, like the sepals, or wanting. Stamens indefinite, distinct, inserted 

 upon a receptacle at the base of the calyx ; anthers 2-celled. Ovarium superior, sessile, 1-celled ; 

 ovula proceeding from 4 to 7 parietal placentae ; style single, or in 2 or 4 divisions. Fruit cap- 

 sular, or berried, 1-celled, many-seeded. Seeds attached to parietal placenta, and enveloped 

 in pulp; albumen either fleshy or very thin; embryo included, either straightish or curved, with 

 leafy cotyledons; radicle pointing to the hilum. — Trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple, 

 entire, usually with pellucid dots; stipules deciduous; peduncles axillary, 1- many-flowered, 

 with bracteas. 



Affinities. The carpological characters of this order are very much those 

 of Cistinese and Homalineai ; from the former, Bixinese differ in the position of 

 their radicle, and in many other particulars ; from the latter they are distin- 

 guished by their hypogynous stamens, and consequently superior fruit, by the 

 distinct nature of the sepals and petals, when the latter are present, &c. Their 

 dotted leaves are remarkable among all the neighbouring orders, and would 

 alone suffice to characterize them, if they were constant, but they are occa- 

 sionally not dotted. Some of the genera were formerly referred to Rosaceae : 

 but the affinity of this order with that is very weak ; the plants which were for- 

 merly placed in it were imperfectly known. 



Geography. All natives of the hotter parts of America, or of the islands of 

 the Mauritius. 



Properties. Bixa yields the substance known to the English by the name 

 of Arnotto. and to the French by that of Rocou. It is the pulp that envc- 



