DICOTYLEDONES— THALAMIFLOE^ 295 



imbricate, ultimately enlarged into winglike expansions. Petals 

 5, hypogynous, often coherent at the base ; cestivation twisted. 

 Stame7isni\in.ero\is, hypogynous, distinct or united in an irregular 

 manner by their filaments so as to become somewhat poly- 

 adelphous ; anthers innate, 2-celled, subulate, prolonged above 

 or beaked. Ova r?/ superior, 3- celled ; ovules pendulous; style 

 and stigma simple. Fruit 1-celled, dehiscent or indehiscent, 

 surrounded by the enlarged permanent calyx. Seed solitary, 

 exalbuminous ; radicle superior. 



Distribution and Numbers. — Natives exclusively^ of the 

 forests of the tropical East Indies, with the exception of the 

 genus Lophira, which belongs to tropical Africa. (The latter 

 genus, by Endlicher and others, has been separated from the 

 Dipteraceae, and placed in an order by itself under the name of 

 Lophiracese. The chief characters of disthiction are its 1-celled 

 ovary with numerous ovules on a free central placenta, and its 

 inferior radicle.) Illustrative Genera : — Dipterocarpus, Gdrtn. ; 

 Dryobalanops, Gdrtn. There are about 50 species belonging to 

 this order. 



ProjJerties and Uses. — These plants form very large and 

 handsome trees, which abound in an oleo-resinous juice. To 

 the presence of this they owe their peculiar properties. 



Order 81. Chl^nace^, the Sarcolaena Order. — Character. 

 — Trees or shrubs. Leaves entire, alternate, with large deciduous 

 convolute stipules. Flowers regular, unsymmetrical, furnished 

 with an involucre : the involucre surrounding 1 — 2 flowers, and 

 persistent. Sei)als 3, imbricate. Petals 5, convolute, sometimes 

 united at the base. Stamens generally very numerous, rarely 

 but 10, monadelphous ; anthers roundish, 2-celled. Ovary 3- 

 celled ; style 1 ; stigma trifid. Fruit capsular, 3-celled or rarely 

 1-celled ; lAacentas axile. Seeds solitary or numerous, suspended ; 

 embryo in the axis of fleshy albumen ; cotyledons leafy ; radicle 

 superior. 



Diagnosis. — Readily distinguished among the Thalamiflorae 

 by their alternate simple stipulate leaves and involucrate 

 flowers, which are regular and unsymmetrical. The calyx is 

 also imbricate, the stamens monadelphous, and the seed has 

 abundant albumen. 



Distribution and Numbers. — There are but 8 species in- 

 cluded in this order, all of which are natives of Madagascar. 

 Illustrative Genus : — Sarcolaena, Thouars. 



Properties and Uses. — Altogether unknown. 



