130 BOTANY. 



amplexicaul at the base. They are aUied to Ericaceae, and seem to occupy 

 the place of heaths in AustraHa. They are distinguished from heaths by 

 the structure of their anthers. They are cultivated for the beauty of their 

 flowers. In some cases they yield edible fruits. One of the plants called 

 Native Currant in Australia is Leucopogon richei. The order has been 

 divided into two sections: 1. Epacrea, polyspermous. 2. Stypheliece, 

 monospermous. There are 30 known genera and 320 species, according 

 to Lindley. Examples : Epacris, Sprengelia, Styphelia, Leucopogon, 

 Lissanthe. 



Order 109. VACciNiACEiE, the Cranberry Family. Calyx superior, entire, 

 four- to six-lobed. Corolla monopetalous, four- to six-lobed ; aestivation 

 im4)ricated. Stamens distinct, eight to twelve, inserted into an epigynous 

 disk ; anthers bilocular, with two horn-like cells, dehiscing by pores. 

 Ovary inferior, four- or five-celled ; ovules 00 ; style simple ; stigma simple. 

 Fruit succulent, crowned by the persistent limb of the calyx. Seeds one or 

 many in each cell, minute ; embryo straight, in the axis of fleshy albumen ; 

 cotyledons very short ; radicle long, inferior. Shrubby plants, with 

 alternate, undivided, exstipulate leaves. They are closely allied to 

 Ericaceae, and differ from that order chiefly in their adherent (inferior) 

 ovary. They are natives of temperate regions, and some of them are marsh 

 plants. Some are astringent, others yield sub-acid edible fruits. Cranberries 

 are produced by Vaccinium oxycoccus (Oxycoccus palustris of some 

 authors) and V. macrocarpum. Examples : Vaccinium, Gaylussaccia, 

 Chiogenes. The American Huckleberries, Bilberries, Deerberries, &c., are 

 furnished by various species of Vaccinium, and of Gaylussaccia. 



Order 110. Ericace^, the Heath Family. Calyx, four- or five-cleft, 

 nearly equal, persistent. Corolla inserted at the base of the calyx, or 

 hypogynous, monopetalous, four- or five-cleft, sometimes tetra- or pentape- 

 talous, regular or irregular, often marcescent ; eestivation imbricated. 

 Stamens definite, equal in number to the segments of the corolla, or twice 

 as many, inserted with the corolla, and either free from it or attached to its 

 base ; anthers two-celled ; cells hard and dry, bifid, usually having 

 appendages at the base or apex, dehiscing by apicilar pores or clefts. 

 Ovary free, surrounded at the base by a disk or scales, plurilocular ; ovules 

 00, attached to a central placenta ; style one, straight ; stigma one, undivided 

 or toothed. Fruit capsular or baccate, many-celled, with loculicidal or 

 septicidal dehiscence. Seeds 00, minute ; embryo cylindrical, in the axis 

 of fleshy albumen ; radicle next the hilum. Shrubs, undershrubs, or 

 herbaceous plants, with evergreen, often rigid, entire, verticillate, or opposite, 

 exstipulate leaves. The order contains many beautiful and showy plants, 

 which abound at the Cape of Good Hope, and which are also found in 

 Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The order has been divided 

 into the following sub-orders : 



Sub-order 1. EricinecB. Calyx free from the ovaiy. Corolla monope- 

 talous, or rarely nearly or entirely polypetalous. Seed-coat close and thin, 

 rarely loose and cellular. Tribe 1. Salaxidece. Corolla persistent ; cells 

 one-ovuled ; anthers unarmed ; buds naked. Example ; Salaxis. Tribe 2. 

 130 



