386 RUBIACE^. [part ii. 



Jioribunda^ also a native of New Holland, a 

 very curious plant, is also included in this 

 order. It is a shrub about three feet high, so 

 covered with orange-coloured blossoms that the 

 colonists call it the Fire-tree. When the seed 

 of this plant germinates, it is said to have three 

 cotyledons. The last plant generally included 

 in this order is Aucuba japonica^ though it is 

 probable this plant belongs to Cornacese. Of 

 this species we have probably only a variety, 

 from the variegation of the leaves ; and it has 

 never produced seeds, as only the female plant 

 has been introduced. 



ORDER CIL— CHLORANTHE^. 



Ixcoxspicuous plants with greenish flowers, 

 which require a hothouse in Britain. 



ORDER cm.— RUBIACEiE. (See Chap. V. P. 85.) 



This order is divided into thirteen sections, 

 most of which have been already described. In 

 all the species the tube of the calyx adheres to 

 the ovary, which is crowned with a fleshy 

 cup, from which arises the single style ; and 

 the petals are united at the base, and attached 

 to the upper part of the tube of the calyx. 



