204 



CXCI. CAPRIFOLIACE.E. The Honeysuckle Tribe. 



Caprifolia, Juss. Gen. 210. (17S9) in part. — Caprifol :.e.e, Dec. and Duby, 244. (1828); 

 Lindl. Synops. 131. (1829.) [Dec. Pro*. 4. 321. (1830.)] 



Diagnosis. Monopetalous dicotyledons, with an inferior many-celled ova- 

 rium, pendulous ovula, and opposite leaves without stipulse. 



Anomalies. Hedera, a doubtful citizen, is polypetalous. Hydrangea is 

 both polypetalous and polyspermous. 



Essential Character. — Calyx superior, usually with 2 or more bractere at its base, entire 

 or lobed. Corolla superior, monopetalous or polypetalous, rotate or tubular, regular or irre- 

 gular. Stamens equal in number to the lobes of the corolla, and alternate with them. Ova- 

 rium with from 1 to 5 cells, 1 of which is often monospermous, the others polyspermous; in 

 the former the ovulum is pendulous; style 1 ; stigmas 1 or 3. Fruit indehiscent, 1 or more 

 celled, either dry, fleshy, or succulent, crowned by the persistent lobes of the calyx. Seeds 

 either solitary or pendulous, or numerous and attached to the axis; testa often bony; embryo 

 straight, in fleshy albumen; radicle superior.— Shrubs or herbaceous plants, with opposite 

 leaves, destitute of stipulcc. Flowers usually corymbose, and often sweet-scented. 



Affinities. Whether this order comprehends the rudiments of four, name- 

 ly, Hederacese, Hydrangeacece, Sambucineae, and Lonicerese (the true Caprifo- 

 liaceas), or whether these are mere forms of one and the same order, it is not 

 easy to say. They are usually combined ; and yet the different habits of those 

 sections, the separation of the petals in Hedera and Hydrangea, and some hints 

 that have been thrown out by Mr. Brown, render it probable that there are 

 weighty grounds for their disunion. In the mean while it is most advisable to 

 retain the order in its present state until some skilful botanist shall have taken 

 the subject up, especially as there can be no doubt that, whether distinct or the 

 same, they are very nearly related to each other. Taking Lonicereae, or the 

 Honeysuckle tribe, for the type of the order, we find a striking affinity with 

 Cinchonaceee, in the monopetalous tubular corolla, definite stamens, inferior ova- 

 rium, and opposite leaves, an affinity which is confirmed by the corolla of the 

 latter being occasionally regular or irregular. With Apocyneae they will have, 

 for the same reasons, an intimate alliance, differing chiefly in their qualities, in 

 the non-connivence of their anthers, the aestivation of the corolla, and the struc- 

 ture of the ovarium. To Lorantheaa they also approach, but differ in the rela- 

 tion of the anthers to the lobes of the corolla, and in other points. But if we 

 consider the tribe called Sambucineae, our view of the affinities of the order will 

 take a different turn, and we shall find an approach to an order the relationship 

 of which would hardly have been suspected, viz. Saxifrageae : this is established 

 through the intervention of Hydrangea, a genus usually referred to Saxifrageae, 

 but which it appears more advisable to station by the side of Viburnum, from 

 which it is undistinguishable in habit, and with which it accords in inflo- 

 rescence and in the constant disposition of its flowers to become radiant, but 

 which differs in being polypetalous and polyspermous. Besides these points of 

 affinity, Caprifoliaceae probably tend towards Umbelliferae through Sambu- 

 cineae. 



The following are the characters of the sections, if they be sections, of this 

 order : 



1. Lonicere^e. The Honeysuckle Tribe. 

 Lonicereae, Ach. Rich. EUm. de la Bot. ed. 4. 484. (1828). — Caprifoliere, Dec. 

 and Dubij, 244. (1828.) 

 Corolla tubular. Berry 2- to 4-celled, with 1 or many-seeded cells. Style 

 1. Leaves opposite. 



