ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 189 
sive arrangement of the whole order, showing ifs several suborders and tribes as developed in 
detail in his Memoirs and Prodromus, This distribution, has hitherto been adopted by all suc- 
ceeding Botanists, but now [ believe, in course of being somewhat modified by Mr. Bentham, 
(Labiatarum genera et species auctor) who lately published a Memoir entitled “ Commenta- 
tiones de Leguminosarum generebus”" embracing however only a small portion of this vast fami- 
ly, but which, he informs me, is but the precursor of a complete revision of the whole order, 
similar to his work on the Labiate, a work, pronounced by universal consent a model of perfec- 
tion in Botanical literature. Leaving for the present his views, not yet sufficiently developed to 
be touched upon here, I shall proceed to explain, as briefly as possible, the arrangement of 
DeCandolle which we have adopted in our Prodromus, after a few brief remarks on the af- 
finities of the order, as a whole. 
Arrinitizs. Papilionaceous flowers and leguminous fruit will always mark any plant hay- 
ing them as a member of this order, many cases however occur where one or other of these 
marks are wanting, and some where both are absent, rendering it most difficult to distinguish 
by written characters this order from the section Amygdaleae, of Rosaceae. imoseae 
have all regular flowers but at the same time bear leguminous fruit. ‘The Caesalpineae have 
finally, in Haematorylon the valves adhere by the suture and split along the axis. The divi- 
sions which have been proposed in this extensive order are of unequal value; it is possible that 
two of them, namely, Mimoseae and Caesalpinieae may deserve, as Brown seems to think, the 
rank of suborders; for they really appear to be of the same importance with reference to 
Papilionaceae, as Amyridaceae, Connaraceae, Anacardiaceae, and Burseraceae, with respect to 
h other,” . ’ : 
DeCandolle divides the order into two principal sections, those namely in which the ra- 
dicle is curved back on the commisure or margin of the cotyledons, Curvembrya (Plates 
78-79-81-82-84) and those in which the radicle is straight, Rectembry@ (Plates 80 and 82). 
of American origin are not noticed here. ‘The Rectembrye are in like manner divided into two 
