CRASSULACEAi. 



217 



several Indian species are well fitted by their beautifully 

 variegated leaves. The variegation of Begonias, as in 

 Cissiis discolor, arises from the presence of a film of air 

 under the epidermis wherever the surface appears silvery. 

 The epidermis is an interesting microscopic object, owing 

 to the stomates being frequently collected in clusters. 



46. Natural Order, Crassulacece. — The Stonecrop Family. 

 Herbs or shrubs, usually with fleshy leaves. Pistil nearly 

 apocarpous. Ovary superior. 



Type — Bryophylhim calyci?mm. 



An erect, shrubby (introduced) plant, with opposite, 

 simple or compound, succulent leaves, and large terminal 

 panicles of pendulous, greenish-purple, regular flowers. 



Observe the inflated calyx. In some genera of the 

 Family there are as many as twenty sepals. Crassulaceae 

 are abundant at the Cape of Good Hope, and many species 

 grow in dry situations in temperate countries. They are 

 generally characterised by fleshy leaves. 



In Britain, as well as in the Himalaya, many species of 

 the typical genus Stonecrop {Sedum) occur, differing from 

 the type which we have employed in having a polypetalous 

 corolla, as well as in habit. 



