Ranales.] ANONACE^. 421 



The corolla of these plants is so frequently mouopetalous that it affords one of the 

 most striking instances that can be found of the worthlessness of the mouopetalous 

 structure as a fundamental mark of distinction. And none of the affinities pomt in the 

 direction of mouopetalous Orders. No doubt can be entertained of the close resemblance 

 of th's Order to Magnoliads, from which, however, it differs in the want of stipules, in its 

 valvate corolla, and in the iorm of the anthers : agreeing in the ternary division of the 

 parts of fructification, and the indefinite stamens and ovaries. An affinity has been 

 pomted out with Menispermads ; but it appears to be weak. The great featm^e of the 

 Order is its I'uminated albumen, to which there is no exception, and very few parallels. 

 The parietal insertion of ovules, ascribed to the Order by De CandoUe, is not vmi- 

 versal. The ovules are erect in Anona, Guatteria, and Anaxagorea. A remarkable 

 plant is described by Brown, in the Appendix to Flinders's Voyage, under the name of 

 Eupomatia laurina, in which the stamens are manifestly perigynous, and the tube of the 

 calyx ( coherent with the ovaries. This plant affords one of the most remarkable excep- 

 tions we know of to habitual sti-ucture. It is no doubt analogous to Eschscholtzia among 

 Poppyworts and Rosa in Roseworts. I have remarked in Anona laurifolia that the pol- 

 len is arranged in two distinct rows in each cell of the anther, and that ^^■hen that organ 

 bursts, the grains of poUen fall out, cohering in a single row, so as to have the appear- 

 ance of a necklace. Anonads are connected -snth Berberids through Bocagea. I also 

 think there can be no doubt of the alliance of the Order to Nutmegs ; as has been indi- 

 cated by Blume and fully admitted by EndHcher. 



The tropics of the Old and New World are the natural land of these plants : thence 

 they spread, in a few instances, to the northward and the southward. Some of them, 

 useful to man, such as the Custard-appie, the Cherimoyer, and others, have been car- 

 ried by colonists far from theh' native stations. 



Theu' general character is, to have a powerful aromatic taste and smell in all the 

 parts. The bark of Uvaria tripetaloidea yields, being tapped, a \iscid matter, wliich 

 hardens in the form of a fragrant gum. The flowers of many species, especially 

 of Artaboti'ys odoratissima and Guatteria vii'gata, are exceedingly sweet. The dry 

 fruits of others are very aromatic ; those of Xylopia aromatica are the Piper sethiopicum 

 of the shops, and are commonly used as pepper by the African negi'oes. The leaves of 

 Artabotrys are regarded as invaluable in Java against cholera. The Polyalthias of 

 Java are employed in Java with advantage as aromatics of great energy, especially 

 their roots. The leaves of Anona squamosa have a heavy disagreeable odour, and the 

 seeds contain a highly acrid principle fatal to insects, on which account the natives of 

 India use them powdered and mixed with the flour of Gram, or Cicer arietinum, for 

 occasionally washing theu' hair. Xylopia sericea, a large tree found in forests near 

 Rio Janeu'o, where it is called Pindaiba, bears a highly aromatic fruit, with the flavom* 

 of pepper, for which it may be advantageously substituted. Its bark is tough, and 

 readily separated into fibres, from which excellent cordage is manufactm'ed. Blume 

 remarks that the Javanese species requii'e, because of their powerful properties, 

 to be employed ^rith caution ; for if they are administered for too great a length of 

 time, or in too large doses, they produce vertigo, haemorrhage, or even abortion, in 

 pregnant women. The carpels are chewed after dinner in Java for dispelling flatulence. 

 Xylopia glabra, we are told, is called Bitter-wood in the West Indies, because of the 

 presence of well-marked bitterness in every part. The wood, bark, and berries are 

 said to taste hke Orange seeds. The wild pigeons that feed on the berries are said to 

 acquu'e their flavour, and sugar hogsheads made of the wood are reported to render 

 their contents uneatable, even by cocki'oaches. Of some species the fruit is succulent 

 and agi'eeable, contaming a sugary mucilage, which predominates over the slight 

 aromatic flavour that it possesses. Of this kind are the deUcious Custard-apples of 

 the East and West Indies, the Cherimoyer of Peru, and others. In Uvaria triloba an 

 acid is present of a very active nature, according to Duhamel ; but this is not certain. 

 Its leaves are used to bring languid abscesses to a head ; its seeds are said to be emetic. 

 The Anona sylvatica, called Araticu do mato, m Brazil, has a hght white wood, very fit 

 for the use of tui'ners, and for the same purposes as the Lime-tree of Europe. Its fruit 

 is described as good for the dessert. The wood of the root of A. palustris is employed 

 in Brazil for corks. Martins has remarked that many species of Xylopia strike root 

 with great facility, even though the smallest pieces are committed to the earth. The 

 strong elastic wood called Lancewood by the coachmakers, the Yari yari of Guiana, is 

 stated by Schomburgk to be obtained from Duguetia quitarcnsis. Mai'tius found 

 the specific gravity of the wood of a species of Guatteria, called Pindaiba preta to be 

 0-839 after being kept for 20 years in a dry room. See that author s Flora Brasiliauis 

 for many interesting particulars concernmg the plants of this Order. The Indians on 

 the Orinoco, particularly in Atures and Maypui-a, have an excellent febrifuge, called 

 Finitta de Burro, which is the fruit of Uvaria febrifuga, or Xylopia gi-andiflora, 



