262 The Flowering Plants of Western India. 



We have now come to the end of those orders in which the 

 flowers have generally all their parts perfect. The orders which 

 follow have flowers wanting in corolla or calyx, or both ; and 

 the first great division of these is called Monochlamyds (i.e. 

 having a single floral envelope) or Apetalous ; because, where 

 there is only one floral envelope, botanists consider that it is 

 the corolla which is wanting, whether the part which exists is 

 coloured or not, and this part is called indifferently perianth or 

 calyx. But as in the Dichlamydeous orders there are many 

 exceptions in the way of genera and species which want either 

 calyx or corolla, so in these Monochlamydeous orders there are 

 plants which have both. 



In the orders now to be described the male and female organs 

 are oftener found on separate plants or in separate flowers than 

 in the earlier ones, and this in itself is an imperfection. And 

 from the absence of petals the flowers are, in the majority of 

 cases, small and green, " though flowers which have lost their 

 corolla (according to the theory of degeneration) often tend to 

 re-develop brilliant colours in their calyx ; while flowers that 

 have lost both corolla and calyx often tend to re-develop such 

 colours in bracts, involucres, or leaves, as in Jatropha and 

 Poinsettia." Grant Allen. 



V. APETALOUS EXOGENS. 



It seems scarcely possible to make any groups of the seven- 

 teen orders contained in this division, but the following points 

 are to be noticed : 



(1) The first seven orders are, as far as W. India is concerned, 

 composed almost entirely of herbs, and have no trees. Euphor- 

 biaceae and Urticaceae have herbs, shrubs, and trees ; the re- 

 maining seven orders have shrubs and trees only, and no herbs. 



(2) The orders containing species with highly- coloured 

 flowers are Nyctaginese, Thymeleacese, Loranthacese, and Santa- 

 laceae. 



(3) Flowers with calyx as well as corolla are to be found in 

 Loranthaceas and Euphorbiaeese. 



(4) The species with lobed or divided leaves are very few 

 indeed. 



