186 
Although the Winteraceae are allied to the Magnoliaceae and 
may have had a similar origin, they are considerably more 
advanced from an evolutionary point of view, and they are very 
definitely distinguished from them by the following characters :— 
(1) absence of stipules; (2) secretory cells filled with resin or 
ethereal oil in the leaves, appearing as transparent dots; (3) very 
short and small floral axis; (4) relatively few stamens with 
small divergent anther-cells; (5) few carpels in a single whorl 
(or very rarely in 2 whorls), sometimes reduced to a single carpel ; 
and there are corresponding differences in the fruits. I give 
here a key to the families more closely related to Magnoliaceae, 
and the group may take ordinal rank as Magnoliales :— 
*Perianth present, conspicuous, never oper- 
culate ; indumentum not lepidote : 
Flowers hermaphrodite ; stamens free : 
Leaves stipulate, the stipules often en- 
closing and protecting the young 
growths; flowers large, solitary, 
terminal or rarely axillary; axis 
elongated and cone-like, especially 
in fruit; floral geks Gees 
arranged Magnoliaceae. 
Leaves exstipulate, pellucid punctate ; 
flower medium-sized, 
sel ye solitoay ; axis short and 
never cone-like in fruit; carpels 
more or less in a single whorl - Winteraceae. 
Flowers unisexual; stamens partially or 
wholly connate into a globose mass; 
leaves exstipulate, san pellucid- 
punctate; trailing shru Schizandraceae. 
**Perianth present, peat ; indumen- 
tum lepidote; stamens petaloid - Himantandraceae. 
***Perianth absent or much reduced and 
bract-like; indumentum never lepi- 
dote; stamens not petaloid : 
Carpels 3 ; stipules large and inter- 
petiolar, membranous; leaves 
flowers polygamo-monoecious; 
monotypic genus (Lactoris) in ; 
Juan Fernandez - - Lactoridaceae. 
Carpels more than three; stipules 
absent or small; Leaves not 
pelle pee East Asiatic 
trees and shrubs 
Flowers havniapheodlte: clustered 
or racemose-paniculate ; seeds 
ot winged - - - 'Trochodendraceae. 
