116 Prof. G. Gulliver on Rap/tides and other Crystals in Plants. 



but many sphscraphides. In short, these Pittosporacese afford 

 sphscraphides, but are quite devoid of raphides. 



Olacacccc. — Dried leaves of Olax scandens, 0. stricta, Liri- 

 osma, sp., Heisteria cyanocarpa, Ximenia americana, Icacina sene- 

 galensis, Aphodytes, sp., Gomphandra axillaris, Pogopetalum acu- 

 leatum, and Cansjera scandens : all these Olacacese and Icaci- 

 nacese devoid of raphides. 



Araliacece and Rhamnaccce. — Of these orders the following 

 plants were examined, and none of them afforded any raphides : 

 Aralia leptophylla, A. nudicaulis, Hedera Helix, Rhamnus Ala- 

 ternus, Ceanothus azureus, and C. divaricatus. Some of them 

 abound in sphseraphides, as may be well seen in Aralia ('Annals/ 

 April 1861) and Rhamnus. In the last plant they form a beau- 

 tiful sphseraphid tissue, of which there is a plate from Lythrum 

 in the 'Annals' for September 1863, pi. IV. fig. 13. This 

 tissue occurs in the leaves, liber, and between the medullary 

 rays and alburnum of Rhamnus. 



On the present occasion negative results of searches for ra- 

 phides are detailed more particularly than has been usual in 

 these papers, in order that botanists may estimate the observa- 

 tions on Vitacese at their true value, and more especially as 

 Mr. W. H. Baxter has kindly afforded me the means of making 

 comparative examinations of all the above-named Leere, Pitto- 

 sporacese, and Olacacese. 



Excepting the little order Cyrillacese, of which I have yet seen 

 no member, the first six orders in this paper form the whole of 

 Prof. Lindley's Berberal Alliance, in which the order Vitacese 

 occupies the central place lineally. The affinities of this order 

 he thus indicates : — 



Araliacece. 



Berbericlacese. — Vitacese. — Pittosporacese. 



Rhamnaccce. 



The result of the present observations is remarkable. No 

 plant of the central order examined without finding raphides ; 

 while, on the contrary, these were never found at all in any 

 examination of its allies and surrounding orders. Thus Vitacese 

 must surely be entitled to the character of a raphis-bearing 

 order. But whether this character will always certainly prove 

 diagnostic, as now seems probable, can only be decided after a 

 complete examination of all the orders in question. So novel is 

 this subject of raphides as natural characters in systematic 

 botany. 



Balsaminaccce, Galiacece, Onagracece, Phytolaccacece, and Nyc- 

 faginacea. — And the same remark applies to these raphis-bearing 

 Exogens, although my observations in the' Annals ' for July 



