210 ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 



De Can 



Endlicher, Meisner, and Lindley agree in assigning to Cordiaceo^ ^pendulous ovules; Alphonse 

 'andolle, on the other hand, says of Varronia^ "ovula angulo interno cujusvis loculi lateraliter 



adBxa, basi ubtusa, apice latire visa acuminata, facie obs. angustato-truncata, a dorso compressa;" 

 and of Cordia, '*ovula ut in Varroniis ex obs, in 6\ Gerascantho^ aut basi loculi propiora et potius 

 adscendentia ex C. Chamissoniana!'^ My observations, as exhibited fig. 6 tab. 169, accurately 

 correspond with his; hence the remark above as to the relative position of the ovule in the 

 two tribes. 



The inference I am disposed to deduce from these considerations is, that the four tribes of 

 De Candolle mnst either be retained as one or split into four orders, and, for myself, I feel 

 disposed to adopt the former alternative. In that case the affinities of the conjoint order 

 become complex ; the first tribe perhaps approaching ConvolvulacecB^ but very distinct, the second 

 «ftd third, Verbena ceae^ equally distinct ; and the fourth, Labiaiece, but still all associating so well 

 with each other that those of one tribe may be mistaken for those of another. This could 

 scarcely happen with species of any other order. Lindley's location of Cordia in his Solanal 

 Alliance between Asclepiadece^ and Convolvzilacew seems to me unnatural, at least I am unable 

 to trace any affinity with the former and, so far as I am acquainted with the order, not much 

 with the latter. 



Geographical Distribution. Viewed in its most comprehensive aspect, that is, as 

 understood by De Candolle, this order has a very extensive distribution, its species being 

 scattered all over the world. CordiecE. Khrptmrp nnrl " 



Heliotropiece. 



others put 

 the more tem- 



predilections, while ^orro^e^, containing at least twice as many species as all the 



together, is to an equal extent extratropical, being for the most part natives of the 



perate latitudes, abounding In the Southern parts of Europe and Central Asia. Species referable 



to De Candolle s three first tribes are common in Southern India, while those of the fourth are 



comparatively unknown. Trichodesma and some species of Cynoglassum, bein^ almost the only 

 ones to be met with. ^ ^ ? 6 j 



r 



I^ROPEUTIES AND UsEs. ThcsG Ere not important. The fruit of some species of Cordia 

 are eat by the Natives but are not by any means agreeable to the European palate, being soft 

 and mu(Mlag,nou8 with a kind of mawkish sweet taste. The wood, though some attain the 

 stature of considerable sized trees, is not of much value. 



The Ehretias are not much thought of as medicinal agents. 



kre used m the same manner and for nearly the same purposes as Sarsaparilla. The juice of 

 hIrfTi f'-^'fl (Hehotropmmlndicum) is employed as an application to painful gum 

 of „;Z U T A '"^.^"""^f «7 ^ff^^tions of the eyelids. According to Martins it is a remedy 

 r/ IV. n ^'^^^^^T ^' "*"""'" ^^"*^^'' ^''^ ^"^y inflammation The Peruvian Heliotrope 



SZITnl Cp rr • Z ''''""' "^ ''' ¥''''''' ^^'^^-"««- ^f the true Borrages the Trichl 

 NaHv^ rJ/ • ^"ffic^ently common on the plains of India to have found their way into the 



«^n otJS -1%^ f'T' M^ ^^F ^f ^""'^ *^ ^' •^^"^^t'^- Of the European species, many are 

 employed in the arts for the sake of the dyes furnished by tlieir roots. ^ ^ ' "^ 



InS sicies TtThe^ .,:" Indian specie.. Of the 53 genera o{ Sorrdge^, 9 or 10 furmsh 

 thU .Ve^nn. ;. , • f 4 P'-"'«P,'»'ly. from Northern India. Of the plates illnstratire of 



large conjlt order mav be r^^^^^^^^ ^"^ if""', tt* transit ons of the one 



illustrated u'Ctr^^ ^ttVl'^ltl^'i^L^l "'- ^-^.^l-- The plant.selected to 



Heliotropium 

 Heliophetum Indicum. I do not very 



