ROSACES. ROSE TRIBE. . 171 



ORD. XXVI. EOSACE^E. THE EOSE TRIBE. 



Calyx most frequently 5-lobed, sometimes 4, 8, or 

 10-lobed; petals 5, inserted on the calyx, regular; 

 stamens varying in number, generally more than 12, 

 inserted on the calyx, curved inwards before the expan- 

 sion of the petals ; carpels many, or solitary, either 

 distinct, or combined with each other and with the 

 calyx ; styles distinct, often lateral ; fruit either a drupe 

 (cherry, or plum), an assemblage of erect capsules 

 opening at the side, a number of nut-like seeds inserted 

 into a fleshy receptacle (Strawberry, Blackberry), 

 enclosed in the fleshy tube of the calyx (hip of the Eose), 

 or a pome (apple). A large and important Order, 

 containing about a thousand species, many of which, 

 either in a wild or cultivated state, produce excellent 

 fruit. Cherries, Plums, Almonds, Peaches, Nectarines, 

 Apricots, Strawberries, Easpberries, Blackberries, Apples, 

 Pears, and Quinces, all belong to this Order. It is to 

 be noted, however, that valuable as these fruits are, the 

 leaves, bark, flowers, and seeds, of many, abound in 

 a deadly poison, called hydrocyanic or prussic acid. 

 The variety of form displayed by the fruit of the Eose 

 Tribe has afforded a facility for subdividing the Order 

 into several Sub-orders, or Groups 3 the characters of 

 which are subjoined. 



Sub-order I. AMYGDALE^;. The Almond Group. 



In plants belonging to this division, the pistil is 

 solitary, and the fruit when ripe is a drupe, that is, a 

 single seed enclosed in a hard case, which is itself sur- 

 rounded by a fleshy or juicy pulp, with an external 

 rind, or cuticle ; the bark often yields gum, and prussic 

 acid is generally abundant in the leaves and seeds. 

 They are shrubs or trees, and inhabit the cold and tern- 



