394 DIPTERACEiE. [Hypogynous Exogens. 



of the schemes for classification which Botanists have hitherto employed. It has, for 

 example, the pecuHar rolled-up stipules wliich occur in Magnoliads ; while the Oak is 

 strikingly like Dipterads in foliage, in the germination of the seeds, which takes 

 place undergi'ound without the cotyledons rising into the au', and in a constant 

 tendency to lose the major part of the ovules in the process of maturing one ; it is also 

 to be remarked that the hard cupule or involucre of Mastworts (Corylaceae) is much 

 like the hardened calyx of these Dipterads. It is herein, indeed, that the great 

 featm-e of the latter resides ; we have notliing elsewhere exactly hke the long wing-like 

 lobes of their calyx. Botanists generally contrast Dipterads with the Elseocarpeous 

 division of Lindenblooms, but their valvate calyx, diskless flowers, and pecuhar fruit 

 indicate a distant relationsliip only. The resinous jviice, compound superior ovary, 

 drupaceous fruit, numerous long anthers, u'regular coloured calyx, and single exalbu- 

 minous seed, ally Dipterads, as Blume remai-ks, to Guttifers, from wliich their stipules 

 and the aestivation of the corolla abundantly distinguish them. 



Only foimd in India, and especially in the eastern islands of the Indian Archipelago, 

 where, according to Blume, they form the lai'gest trees of the forest. Shorea robusta 

 hmits the northern distribution of the Order, being fovmd aU along the foot of the 

 Himalayas. 



All the species seem filled \vith balsamic resin, which assumes various forms. Dryo- 

 balanops camphora yields the hard Camphor of Sumatra ; this substance is found in a 

 concrete state in cavities and fissures in the heart of the tree ; it is less volatile than 

 the common camphor of commerce ; the same tree, which is fully described in 

 Blume's Flora Javce, also j-ields the camphoi'-oil of Borneo and Sumatra ; the latter is 

 supposed to be camphor in a partially formed state. Shorea robusta produces a 

 balsamic resin used in the temples of India imder the name of Ral or Dhoona ; Saul, the 

 best and most extensively used timber in India, is produced by the same tree. Vateria 

 indica furnishes the resin called in India Copal (in England known by the name of Gum 

 animi), and very nearly approaching the true resin of that name ; in its recent and fluid 

 state it is used as a varnish (called Piney varnish) in the south of India, and, dissolved 

 by heat, in closed vessels, is employed for the same purpose in other parts of India ; it 

 is extremely tenacious and solid, but melts at a temperature of 97^ Fahr. Dr. Wight 

 tells us that the natives obtain it by the simple process of cutting a notch in the tree, 

 sloping inwards and downwards ; the resin collects there and soon hardens. Under 

 the name of Pmey Dammar this most useful substance is apphed in India to many 

 purposes ; it forms an excellent vamish, and on the Malabar coast is made into candles 

 which " diffuse in burning an agi-eeable fragrance, give a clear bright Ught, with little 

 smoke, and consiune the wick so as not to requu'e suufiing. Some of these candles, 

 that were sent home, were liighly prized and sold for very high prices" (Wight), but 

 their importation was stopped by the excessive duties that were levied upon them. 

 The resin of Dipterocarpus trinervis is found an excellent material for plaisters ; and 

 made into tincture, or formed into an emulsion with yolk of egg, it acts upon the 

 mucous membranes like Balsam of Copaiva. — Blume. The natives of Java smear the 

 leaves of the Plantain Avith this resui, and so form torches, which are said to yield 

 a white hght and to produce a not unpleasant smell. Other kinds of resin are furnished 

 by other species ; as, by Shorea robusta and Tumbugaia, the dlioona or dammer pitch, 

 generally used in India for mai'ine purposes, and as kicense ; by various species of 

 Dipterocarpus, the balsam called by the natives of India Gm'jun, by the Cinghalese 

 Dhoonatil, and by the English Wood-oil. This also is used Hke Balsam of Copaiva. 



GEXERA. 



Dipterocarpus, Garin. jAnisoptera, S'orCA. Ilsauxis, ^rw. [Vatica., Linn. 



Pterygium, CoTT. Dryobalanops, (?dr^«./. Seidlia, KosiQl. Shorea, Roxb. 



? Caryolohis, Gartn. | Vateria, Linn. \ Retinodendron, Korth. ' Hopea, Roxh. 



Numbers. Gen. 7. Sp. 47. 



Position. — Terastromiacese. — Dipterace^. — Clusiacese. 



Corylacece. 



