189 



Essential Character. — Flowers diclinous. Calyx inferior, minute, 5-toothed. Corolla 

 monopetalous ; in the staminiferous tubular, with 5 lobes and lOstamens, all arising from the same 

 tine, and of which those that are opposite the lobes are sessile, the others on short filaments ; 

 anthers adnate, 2-celled, bursting longitudinally ; in the pistilliferous divided nearly to the base 

 into 5 segments. Ovarium superior] 1-cclled, with 5 parietal polyspermous placentae ; stigma 

 sessile, 5-lobcd, lacerated. Fruit succulent, indchisccnt, 1 -celled with 5 polyspermous parie. 

 tad placentae. Seeds enveloped in a loose mucous coat with a brittle pitted testa ; embryo in the 

 axis of fleshy albumen, with flat cotyledons and a taper radicle turned towards the hilum. 

 — Trees without branches, yielding an acrid milky juice. Leaves alternate, lobed, on long 

 taper petioles. Flowers in axillary racemes. 



Affinities. It was the opinion of Jussieu that the genus upon which this 

 order is founded held a sort of middle station between Urticeae and Cucurbita- 

 cese. Auguste St. Hilaire has, however, well remarked upon this subject, that 

 the only relation that it has with the Urticeae consists in the separation of stamens 

 and pistils, its milky juice, its habit, which is like that of some species of Ficus, 

 its foliage, which is not very different from that of Cecropia, and the position of 

 its stigmas : and to these he wisely attaches very little importance. Its fruit 

 brings it near Cucurbitaceae ; but its true place is probably in the vicinity of Pas- 

 siflorea*, with which it altogether agrees in appearance of its testa, in its unilocu- 

 lar fruit with parietal polyspermous placenta 1 , and in its dichlamydeous flowers ; 

 differing, however, widely in its habit and monopetalous flowers. 



Geography. Natives of South America ; unknown, except as objects of 

 cultivation, beyond that continent. 



Properties. The fruit of the Papaw is eaten, when cooked, and is es- 

 teemed by some persons ; but it appears to have little to recommend it. Its 

 great peculiarities are, that the juice of the unripe fruit is a most powerful and 

 efficient vermifuge, the powder of the seed even answers the same purpose, and 

 that a principal constituent of this juice is fibrine, a principle otherwise sup- 

 posed peculiar to the animal kingdom and to fungi. The. tree has, moreover, 

 the singular property of rendering the toughest animal substances tender, by 

 causing a separation of the muscular fibre ; its very vapour even does this ; 

 newly killed meat suspended among the leaves, and even old hogs and old 

 poultry, becoming tender in a few hours, when fed on the leaves and fruit. See 

 an excellent account of the Papaw by Dr. Hooker, in the Bol. J\Iag. 2898. 



.Example. Carica. 



CLXXXI CUCURBIT ACEiE The Gourd Tribe. 



Cucurbitaceje, Jusa. Gen. 393. (17S9); Aug. St. Ml. in Mem. Mus. 9.190-221.(1823); Dec. 

 Prodr. 3.297. (1S28) ; Line/!. Synops. 319. (1829).— Nandhirobeje, Aug. de Si. Hil. I. c. 

 (1823) ; Turpin Did. des Sc. Alias. (?) 



Diagnosis. Monopetalous dicotyledons, with an inferior ovarium, parietal 

 placenta?, succulent fruit, a regular corolla, and no albumen. 



Anomalies. The ripe fruit is divided into 3 or 4 cells in some Momordicas, 

 and is occasionally dry, opening by valves at the apex. 



Essential Character. — Flowers usually diclinous, sometimes monoclinous. Calyx 

 5- toothed, sometimes obsolete. Corolla 5-partcd, scarcely distinguishable from the calyx, very 

 cellular, with strongly marked reticulated veins, sometimes fringed. Stamens 5, either distinct, 

 or cohering in 3 parcels ; anthers 2-celled, very long and sinuous. Ovarium inferior, 1-celled, 

 with 3 parietal placenta; ; style short ; stigmas very thick, velvety or fringed. Fruit fleshy, 

 more or less succulent, crowned by the scar of the calyx, I-celled, with 3 parietal placentae. 

 Seeds flat ovate, enveloped in an arillus, which is either juicy, or dry and membranous; testa 

 coriaceous, often thick at the margin ; embryo flat, with no albumen; cotyledons foliaceous, 

 veined ; radicle next the hilum. — Hoots annual or perennial, fibrous or tuberous. Stem succu- 

 lent, climbing by means of tendrils formed by abortive leaves (stipuls, St. Hil). Leaves pal- 

 mated, or with palmate ribs, very succulent, covered with numerous asperities. Flowers 

 white, red, or yellow. 



