ViOLALES.] 



VIOLACE^. 



339 



although a very common cu'cmiistance, is a mere peculiarity of certain genera. Rock 

 Roses (Cistaceaj), by some associated with them, are very different in their indefinite 

 stamens, cm'led embryo, and orthotropal ovules. So also the Sundews (Droseiacece), 

 another race to which they approach, are far separated by their minute embryo in the 

 midst of profuse albumen, by their numerous styles, circinate leaves, and want of stipiUes. 

 Passionworts, to which the baccate genei-a of Violetworts, and especially Corynostylis 

 (Calyptrion, DC), which has a twinmg stem, undoubtedly approach, are distuiguished 

 by a multitude of characters, among the more striking of wliich are theu' petals adhering 

 to the tube of the calyx and the long stalk of the ovary. 



Of the tv/o Sub-ordex's recognised among these plants, Violere chiefly consist of European, 

 Siberian, and American plants ; a few only being found within the tropics of Asia. 

 They are abundant in South America, where the fonns are, however, materially different 

 from those of the more temperate parts of the world, most of the species bemg slirubs, 

 while the northern Violets are tmiformly herbaceous, or nearly so. Alsodinese are exclu- 

 sively South American and African, with the exception of Pentaloba, which belongs to 

 the Malayan Flora. 



The roots appear to be more or less emetic, a property which is strongly possessed by 

 the South American species, and in a less degree only by those of Em*ope. Hence they 

 form part of the herbs knoA\Ti under the name of Ipecacuanha. lonidium parviflonun, 

 and others, called Cuchunchully in Peru, are violent purgatives and emetics, and have a 

 great reputation as a cure for the disease called Cocobay, in Jamaica, or Mai de S. Lazaro 

 in Spanish America, the Elephantiasis tuberculata ; they are used by the Spanish Ameri- 

 cans, and I. Poaya by the Brazihaus, as a substitute for Ipecacuanha, The root of ano- 

 ther species called Poaya, Poaya de praia, and Poaya brauca, the lonidium Itubu of 

 Kunth, is commonly sold as true Ipecacuanlia, to which it approaches very nearly in its 

 properties ; at Pernambuco it is esteemed the very best remedy that can be employed 

 in dysentery ; and the inhabitants of Rio-Grande-do-Norte consider it a specific against 

 gout. The foUage of the Conohoria Lobolobo is used in Brazil for the same pm'poses as 

 Spinach with us. Boiled, it becomes mucilaginous. Viola canina is reputed a powerful 

 agent for the removal of cutaneous affections ; and Anchietea salutai'is, a creeping bush, 

 with the smell of Cabbage, and a nauseous taste, is accounted by the Brazihans not only 

 a pm'gative, but also a remedy against similar maladies. A. de St. Hilaire remarks, 

 that this notion deserves attention, as connected with the depurative properties ascribed in 

 Europe to Viola canina, of wliich, although Anchietea is botanically related to it, there is 

 notloing in the appearance wliich would have led the Portuguese settlers to attribute the 

 virtues of the one to the other. The petals of Viola odorata are used as a laxative for 

 children, one di'aclim operating pretty freely ; the seeds possess similar properties ; the 

 root is emetic and pm'gative. The aqueous tincture of the flowers is a useful chemical 

 test : imcombined acids changmg the blue to red and alkahes to green. The Romans had 

 a wine made of violet flowers, and it is said they are stiU used ui the preparations of the 

 Grand Signor's sherbet. By some the flowei-s are considered anod;yne ; they certainly 

 induce faintness and giddiness in particular constitutions, as I have witnessed. Triller men- 

 tions a case in which they produced apoplexy. When bruised, the leaves of Viola tri- 

 color smell hke Peach kernels, hence they have been supposed to contain prussic acid. 

 They were once esteemed efficacious in the cm-e of cutaneous disordei's, and are still 

 employed m Italy in tmea capitis. Viola ovata is said to be a i-emedy for the bite of the 

 rattlesnake. 



GENERA. 



I.— Violet. 



Viola, Linn. 



Erpetion, DC. 



Mnemion, Spach. 



Cittaroniiim, Rchb. 



Hybanthus, Jacq. 



Solea, Spreng. 



Pigea, DC. 

 Jonidium, Vent. 



Pombalia, Vand. 

 Noisettia, Kunth. 



Bigclovia, DC. 

 Violceoides, Michx. 

 Anchietea, St. Hil. 

 Noisettia, Mart, et 

 Zucc. 

 Schweiggeria, Spreng. 

 Glossarrhen, Mart, et 

 Zucc. 

 CorjTiostylis, Mart, et 

 Zucc. 

 Calyptrion, Ging. 



AmphiiThox, Spreng. 

 Amphirrhoge , Rchb. 

 Spathularia, St. Hil. 

 BracUeia, Fl. Flum. 



II. — Alsode^. 



Alsodeia, Thonars. 

 Alsodea, Mart, et Zucc. 

 Conohoria, Kunth, 

 Dripax, Noronh, 

 Physiphora, Soland. 



Conohoria, Aubl. 



Riana, Aubl, 



Passoura, Aubl. 



lUnorea, Aubl. 



Cer anther a, Palis. 



Passalia, Soland. 



? Prosthesia, Blum. 

 Tetrathylacium, Piipp. 

 Pentaloba, Lour. 



9 Varcca, Roxb. 

 Hymenanthera, R. Br. 



Numbers. Gen. 11. Sp. 300. 



DroseracecB. 

 Position. — Passifloracese. — Violace^. — Fi*ankeniaceoe. 

 Cistacece. 



z 2 



