240 RAXUNCULACE^. [part ii. 



quently cariopsides ; and the plants abound in 

 a watery juice which is acrid, and in most cases 

 poisonous. 



ORDER II.— DILLENIACEiE. 



This order resembles Ranunculacese in having 

 five petals, five sepals, and numerous stamens ; 

 but the anthers burst inwardly instead of out- 

 wardly, and there are never more than five 

 carpels, and seldom more than two, which often 

 grow into a berry-like fruit, as in the genus 

 Dillenia from which the order takes its name. 

 One species of this genus is occasionally seen in 

 English hothouses, Dillenia speciosa. It has 

 yellow flowers with the five petals apart at the 

 base, and the sepals edged with white. The 

 fruit consists of five carpels growing together 

 with a sort of crown formed by the spreading 

 stigmas. Another genus, some of the species of 

 which are found in British greenhouses, is 

 Hihhertia. The species are generally climbing 

 plants, with flowers like those of Dillenia, but 

 smaller, though H. dentata has the petals close 

 together. The difference between the genera 

 consists principally in the carpels, which in 

 Hibbertia are distinct with long fihform styles 

 curving inwards. All the plants contained in 

 this order are evergreen exotic shrubs and trees 

 with simple alternate leaves, and, with only two 

 or three exceptions, the flowers are yellow. 



