LESSONS IN BOTANY. 



carpels, biloonlar and perpendicularly compressed at the line of 

 junction; ovules double in each coll, pendant or carved; fruit 

 samaroidal; seoddicotyledonouB.exalbuminous.ootyledonB irregu- 

 larly contorted; radiolo descending 1 . 

 The Aceraceaa are trees with 

 opposite potiolate ox-stipulate 

 leaves, having regular, often poly- 

 gamous flowers arranged in 

 iirt. They all possess a 

 sacoharine, limpid, or lactiferous 

 which flows from the plant 

 after incision. One species, Acer 

 in inn, or sugar maple, is 

 -" i i>-h in sugar that considerable 

 iinantities are extracted in Canada 

 mid other parts of North America. 

 The sugar is identical with that 

 obtained from the cane, but it has 

 a certain flavour which renders 

 it less palatable than cane-sugar. 

 (Fig. 2: 1 . t. ) 



the horse-chestnut, which is used in Switzerland for feeding 

 sheep. The genus Nephclium, and the Bapindu* Mponarta or 

 Indian soaptree of .the West Indies, belong to this family. The 

 seeds of all the soapwort*, espe- 

 cially the last named, contain sv 

 saponaceous principle, which in 

 the case of the Kapindug taponaria, 

 is turned to account in washing 

 linen in the Weat Indies. 



SECTION LUX.-HYFERI- 

 CACEJE, OK TUTSANS. 



Characterittict: Calyx free ; 

 sepals four or five, joined together 

 to a variable extent ; contorted in 

 aestivation ; stamens indefinite, 

 free, monadelphons or polyadel- 

 phous ; ovary three to five-celled 

 or uni-locular ; junction incom- 

 plete ; ovules numerous, reflezed 

 or curved ; fruit capsular or bao 



234. THE PLANE -MAPLE (ACER PLATA- 

 NOIDES). 235. THE PERFORATED HYPE- 

 BICUM, OB ST. JOHN'S WORT (HYPERICUM 

 PERFORATUM). 



SECTION LXXIX. SAPINDACE.2E, 

 OB SOAPWOETS. 



Characteristics: Calyx free; petals 

 hypogynons, four or five unequal, 

 free, imbricated ; stamens five to ten, 

 inserted upon a fleshy or glandular 

 disc ; ovary three-celled, bi-ovulate ; 

 ovules curved ; capsule coriaceous, 

 frequently by abortion uni-locular ; 

 seed dicotyledonous, exalbuminous ; 

 stem ligneous ; leaves opposite or alternate ; flowers arranged 

 in a terminal panicle. 



One of the most noticeable of the large trees belonging to this 

 family is the jEsculus Hippocastanum, or common horse-chestnut. 

 The bark of this tree contains a peculiar febrifugal principle 

 called sesculin. In France starch is extracted from the seed of 



236 



236. THE COCOA (THEOBROXA CACAO). 837. 

 COCOA FRUIT OPENED TO SHOW SEEDS. 

 THE PRINCKLT CAROLINE A (CARO- 

 LINEA PRIHCEPS). 



ciform ; seed dicotyledonous, exalbo- 

 minous ; stem ligneous or herbaceous ; 

 leaves opposite or verticillate, simple 

 entire, ordinarily punctuated with pel- 

 lucid glands; flowers regular.arranged 

 in a panicle or cyme. This family is 

 sometimes called the St. John's wort 

 family ; it includes all the St. John's 

 worts, many of which are grown in 

 shrubberies, and are remarkable fox 



their brilliant yellow blossoms. 



The Hypericaceas are distributed over the hot and temperate 



regions of the globe, more especially of the northern hemisphere, 



Ail the ligneous species are intertropical. 



Almost all contain, in addition to a volatile oil, resinous and 



balsamic juices which flow abundantly from the ligneous species. 



