ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 



157 



lished it in his "Sterpes Novae,'^ a less costly work, but, apparently not being aware of Lamack's 

 name, called the genus Monefia, which soon became the better known of the two, and seems 

 to have been generally adopted by all subsequent writers except Jussieu and Persoon. Of 

 course in constructing the order, we adopted the name which had priority in its flivour, in the 

 hope of at the same time doing justice to the original discoverer, and preventing an unnecessary 

 synonym being added to our list. 



EXPLANATION OP PLATE 153. 



Azima tetracantha. 



1, Flowering branch, natural size. 



2. Male flower. 



3- Same split open. 



4. Anthers back and front views. 



5. Flowering shoot, female. 



6. Female flowers, and accompanying spines 



7. Female flower dissected. 



8. Stamens of female flower. 



9, 10. Ovary cut vertically and transversely. 



IL Branch with mature fruit 



12. Fruit cut transversely. 



13. Mature seed. 



14. 

 15. 



magnified. 



Testa removed, showing the large cotyledons and 

 inferior radicle. 



16. Cotyledons seen from within, 



17. Portions of a leaf magnified, showing the pube- 

 scence. 



CIV.-JASMINE^. 



This, so far as the name goes, is an old order, being first so designated by Jussieu, but as 

 he constructed it, it was rather complex, including both Jasmineae and Oleaceae, and two genera 

 belonging to other orders, Mr, Brown in his Prodromus limited the order to Jasminum and 

 Nyctanthes^ separating the Oleaceous genera to form a distinct family. This arrangement has 

 been pretty generally adopted by subsequent Botanists, but not unanimously. Richard, I 

 believe, still adheres to the old order and in 1831, when Dr. Arnott's article "Botany,"*^ in the 

 Encyclopedia Britannica, appeared, he held the same views ; but has since adopted Brown^^s. 

 Until very recently, I had no doubt on the subject, considering them as thoroughly distinct as 

 Jasminew and Asclepiadew^ and I still think them quite distinct, though I confess I am unable, 

 while Chondrosperm remains here, to tell where the one begins and the other ends. Under 

 Oleacece I have show^n that characters taken from the position and number of the ovules, and 

 from the structure of the seed, are not sufficiently constant to be relied on, hence it appears, 

 that we must look to habit and aestivation of the corolla, as furnishing in the main the most 

 constant characters, Oleaceoe being generally arborlous or erect rigid shrubs with valvate aestiva- 

 tion of the corolla; while Jasmines, excluding Nyctanthes and Schrehera^ VLxe vo\\xh\e shrubs 

 with twisted aestivation. To these may be added, if I may use the expression, that tetramerous 

 diandrous flowers are characteristic of Oleacece^ whereas pentamerous diandrous ones seem to 

 appertain to Josminece. These are all important distinctions and seem sufficient, not merely to 

 separate this diandrous group of plants into two orders, but even into different groups or 

 alHances as Lindley has done. 



Character of the Order. Flowers hermaphrodite, unsymmetrical. Calyx persistent, 

 4-8-toothed or lobed. Corolla hypogynous, 1-petaled, 5-8-lobed, salver shaped ; lobes imbricated 

 in aestivation, the 2 exterior ones twisted or valvate. Stamens two, attached to the tube, 

 incluse. Anthers 2-celled, introrse, bursting longitudinally. Ovary destitute of a hypogynous 

 disk, 2-celled, 2-lobed at the apex ; ovules ascending or amphitropous 1-2, rarely more, in each 

 cell ; style simple ; stigma 2-lobed. Fruit bibaccate or capsular ; capsules 2-celIed, bipartible, 

 cells indehiscent. Seed exalbuminous or with sparing albumen, testa often tumid ; embryo 

 straight; radicle inferior. Erect or scandent shrubs : leaves opposite, rarely alternate or often 

 unequally pinnate, leaflets S-5-7, or sometimes, by abortion of the lateral leaflets, reduced 

 to one, but then on a jointed petiol, indicating its compound nature. Flowers corymbose or 

 panicled ; pedicels opposite, l-bracteate. Corolla white or yellow, often fragrant. 



y 



