344 



MANUAL OF BOTANY 



Fk;. 1107. 



with 2 — 4 o^alles ; style and stigma simple. Fruit indehiscent, 

 1-seeded. Seeds pendulous, exalbuminous ; cotyledons leafy, 

 convolute or plaited. 



Distribution and Nnmbcrs. — Exclusively natives of the 

 tropical parts of xVmerica, Africa, and Asia. Illustrative Genera : 

 Terminalia, Linn. ; Combretum, Loffl. There are about 200 

 species. 



Proijerties and Uses. — The order is chiefly remarkable for 

 the presence of an astringent principle ; hence the bark of some 

 species, and the fruits and flowers of others, are employed in 



tanning and dyeing. Some yield 

 excellent timber. 



Order 138. Myrtace^, the 

 Myrtle Order. — Character. — 

 Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite 

 or alternate, entire, exstipulate, usu- 

 ally dotted, and having a vein run- 

 ning just within their margins. 

 Calyx superior, 4- or 5-cleft, valvate, 

 sometimes separating in the form 

 of a cap. Petals 4 — 5, imbricate, 

 rarely absent. Stamens usually 8 — 

 1 0, or numerous, or rarely 4 — 5 _ 

 filaments distinct or polyadelphous, 

 Ovary inferior, 1 — 6-celled; style 

 and stigma simple; j^lacentas axile, 

 or very rarely parietal. Frnit dry 



or succulent, dehiscent or inde- 

 Fig. 1107. Flowering branch of the ],:„„„„+ Seed^i withont albumpn 

 common Myrtle (Myrtus com- ^^^^^^"•'- ^^Ceas Wlinoui aioumen, 

 munis). usually numerous. 



Division of the Order and 

 Illustrative Genera. — The order may be divided into two tribes 

 as follows : — 



Tribe 1. Lcptospermcp. — Fruit capsular. Ilhistrative Genera, : 



Melaleuca, Leptospermum. 

 Tribe 2. Myrtete. — Fruit baccate. Illustrative Genera : — 



Tunica, Linn. ; Myrtus, Tourn. 



Distrihution and Numbers. — Natives of the tropics and of 

 the warmer parts of the temperate zones. Myrtus communis, 

 the common Myrtle, is the most northern species of the order. 

 This plant, although now naturalised in the South of Europe, 



