172 



they are Monocotyledonous ; an opinion in which Blume concurs, after an 

 examination of abundance of species in their native places of growth. See 

 Ann. des Sc. 12. 222. But if the medullary rays constitute the great anato- 

 mical difference between these divisions of the vegetable kingdom (and I know 

 of no other which is absolute), then Piperaceae are surely Dicotyledonous, as 

 is shown by Meyer (Dissertatio tie Hoiithtynia, 38), and as may be ascer- 

 tained by any one who will look at an old stem of any Pepper ; add to this, 

 the veins of their leaves having a distinct articulation with the stem, and the 

 2-lobed embryo ; and it seems to me impossible to doubt their being properly 

 stationed among Dicotyledons. In this view they are closely related to Poly- 

 gonere, Saururese, and Urticeee, from all v/hich, however, the_y are distinguished 

 by obvious characters ; and also to Chloranthese, from which they differ in 

 the point of attachment of the ovule, and in the distinct existence of the 

 remains of the amnios in the form of a sac around the embryo. In the 

 opinion of those who believe Piperaceae to be Monocotyledons, their station is 

 near Aroideae, with which, indeed, they must be considered in any point of 

 view to be closely connected. 



Geography. Exclusively confined to the hottest parts of the world. 

 They are extremely common in tropical America and the Indian archipelago, 

 but, according to Mr. Brown, are very rare in equinoctial Africa. Only 3 

 species have been found on the west coast ; several exist at the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Congo, 464. 



Properties. Common Pepper, so well known for its pungent, stimulant, 

 aromatic quality, represents the ordinary property of the order, which is not 

 confined to the fruit only, but which pervades all the parts in a greater or less 

 degree. The Cubebs of the shops, remarkable for their extraordinary power 

 of allaying inflammation in the urethra and in the mucous membrane of the 

 intestinal canal, are the dried fruit of Piper cubeba. Ainslie, 1. 98. The 

 chemical principle called Piperin has been found in Black Pepper. Turner, 

 700. Piper anisatum has a strong smell of Anise, and a decoction of lt^p 

 berries is used to wash ulcers. Betel, an acrid stimulating substance, much 

 used for chewing by the Malays, is the produce of Piper Betel, and Siriboa. 

 Finally, P. inebrians possesses narcotic properties, of which the South Sea 

 islanders avail themselves for preparing an intoxicating beverage. Dec. 



Examples. Piper, Peperomia. 



CLXIII. PODOSTEM$fc. 



POD0STEME.E, Richard and Kunlh in Humb. N. G. et Sp. 1. 246. (1815) ; Martius Nov. G. et 



Sp. 1. 6. (1822.) 



Diagnosis. Achlamydeous herbaceous dicotyledons, with a 2-celled poly- 

 spermous capsule, and solitary flowers. 

 Anomalies. 



Essential Character. — Flowers naked, monoclineus, bursting - through an irregularly 

 lacerated spatha. Stamens hypogynous, varying from 2 to an indefinite number, either 

 placed all round the ovarium or on one side of it, monadelphous, alternately sterile ; anthers 

 oblong-, 2-cclled, bursting longitudinally. Ovarium 2-cellcd, with numerous ovula attached 

 to a fleshy central placenta ; styles or stigmas 2 or 3, and sessile. Fruit slightly pedicellate, 

 ribbed, capsular, opening by 2 valves, which fall off from the dissepiment, which is parallel 

 with them. Seeds numerous, minute, their structure unknown, or, according to Von Martius, 

 entirely simple.— Herbaceous branched floating plant3. Leaves capillary, or linear, or lacer- 

 ated irregularly, or minute and densely imbricated, decurrent on the stem, with which 

 they are not articulated. Flowers axillary or terminal, inconspicuous. 



