ILLUSTRATIONS oF INDIAN ROTANV. 



jI 



af all and the fruit is then l-celleJ : carpels dehiscinc^ at th - - 



„,, -.1 f .1 , , • « . o "- '" entral suture, spnaratiti'' from (>a.:li 



othpr,Pi»her from fhe base upwards, or from the apex d..w,nv.rd.s. Seed«. usually numerous 



rarely defiaiie: allmiuea fleshy. Kmbryo small, in the midst of the all.umeu : radicle poinfin- 



towards the hiluni. *^ ° 



th 



AFFiNiriK-?. Much difference of opinion exists on thi.s head, which seems to indicate that 

 order as no. v constituted is not a very natural one, an<l it cert.inly atfords an instance of fhe 

 dithculry of establishing natural >jroups according to the fl..ral organs, some of the genera refer- 

 red here having superior, some inferior, or sub inferior flower, and some have two, some three, 

 and some 5 celled ovaries. 1 he seed however are always alhumenms. Under Caclcne I di- 

 rected attentmn to the circumstance of Dr. Lindley removing G/uv.$a/a«a« to a considerable dis- 

 tance irom that order on account of its alhumenous seed though associating in it. floral charac- 

 ters, as an instance of attaching a high value to that chai-Hcferinone instance whde in others 

 tie a.ssi^ned it a very secondary one, we have another instance of the same kind here The 

 genus /',ir«av,9.n-. though ditfering in having a free o,ie-celle<l ovary, parietal placentas, and ex- 

 alhumenous seed, he places here, on the supposition thnt its fringed scales are a peculiar deve- 

 lopment of a hypr.gynous disk. This view of the nature of these scales may or may not be cor- 

 rect, but . f the presence of albumen is to have so much importance attached to it in one in- 

 stance, ought we so lotHl y to disregard it in another, as to place a plant, differing so materially 

 both m flcrnl and seminal structure, its seed being exalbumenous, in an order the character of 

 vhich is to have "the embryo in the axis of a fleshy albumen ? My acquaintance with both 



^''•^f''^^^''!;""'' <^'«^^^^^^^^ these two seem to be most 



nearly allied orders, differing principally in the more or less complete union of the ovary with 

 the calyx and the number of carpels, points, in which different genera of each order m^et/ while 

 they equally associate in the structure of their seed. 



Between ihem and Grossulariae, the affinity is small indeed, and is equally remote from 



Umhelllft 



DeCandolle adverts as relations. 



,7 1 n, -J , , , T. , - - "• Between the section Hij- 



du^r,geae^x^^PhlladelphPMe,\\^^^^fi\v.B.i\^ indicated such an affinity as appears to warrant 



their uniQu, but as my acquaintance with both is slight, 1 merely suggest the affinity, leaving 



o those better informed either to unite them, or show that in this supposition I am in error • 



t 



supposi 

 Ti-r^ ''"wever ox urev.a.uio!ie placing D^mtzia here, while all other writers associate it with 

 Philadelphus is in favour of my suggestion. 



1 r. ^'^^^««^J"'C'^^ DiSTRiBUT.ov The species of this order are nearly all natives of northern 

 latitudes, and several are foun.l within the arctic circle, most of them are natives of Mountain 

 ous tracts in Europe. The following brief extract from Lindley's Natural System of Botany 

 gives a good id^a of their habits and fhe kind of stations they prefer, 



"Little elegant herba-eous plants, usually with white flowers, ccespitose leaves, and 



glandular stems : some of the species have yellow flowers, others have red, but none blue 



Jhey are natives of mountainous tracts in Europe and the northern p.rts of the world fre' 



quently forming the chief beauty of that rich turf which is found near the snow in high Vlnme 



Stations. Some grow on rocks and old walls, and in hedge-rows, or near rivulets, or in groves " 



i-ROPKRTiEs AND UsKs. Astringeucy is fhe predominating peculiarity of the order, whence 

 an American species has received the name of alum root. 



Remarks on Gbnijra and Speciks 



Only one genus has yet been met with in South 



India It IS one of those having rlie placenta pendulous from the apex of the cell of the ovary 

 Only two species belong to it, hoih obscure weeds having neither use nor beauty to recommemi 

 them to notice. Ihey abound m sandy soil on the banks of rivers and near the sea coast 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE 115. 



Vahlia oMenlandioidex . Roxb. • 



1. A plant, natural size. 



2. Flowers side view, 



3. Front view of the same, more highly magnijied. 



4. Anthers back and front view. 



5. Ovary cut vertically, showing the pendulous pla- 



centee covered on all sides with ovules. 



V- 



6. Cut transversely, 



7. Mature capsule. 



8. Cut transversely, 

 9« A leaf, nuignified. 



