THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



twenty feet in the space of three years. Its staminiferons 

 flowers are in long multi-floral racemes. Its pistils are almost 

 sessile. Fruit about the size of a little melon, a delicious article 

 of food, either in its raw state or cooked. The milky juice of 

 the stem and leaves contains a fibri- 

 nous matter, which has the singular 

 property, that on pouring a few 

 drops of it into water, and steeping 

 in this water for the space of a few 

 minutes raw meat, the latter be- 

 comes . remarkably tender. The 

 same result is obtained by envelop- 

 ing the meat in leaves of the tree, 

 or even by suspending it from the 

 tree; but in any case the meat must 

 be eaten immediately after Booking, 

 otherwise it rapidly spoils. 

 SECTION CXI. BEGONIACE.E, OE 



BEGONIADS. 

 Charachristics : This natural or- 



cultivated in the hot-houses of Europe, of which the scarlet 



begonia (Fig. 270) is the most magnificent. 



SECTION CXn.-EUPHORBIACE.ffi, OE SPURGEWORTS. 

 Characteristics : Flowers diclinous and generally without calyx 

 or corolla, but sometimes with one 

 or both; ovary usually three-celled ; 

 uni- or bi-ovulate ; carpels joined 

 with a central styliferous axis ; fruit 

 capsular, with dry or fleshy epi- 

 carp separating in valves ; seeds 

 pendent ; embryo dicotyledonous, 

 straight, in the axis of a fleshy 

 albumen. 



The greater number of this 

 family contain a milky, acrid, and 

 poisonous juice, which often holds 

 dissolved, in addition to other prin- 

 ciples, a peculiar elastic substance, 

 and occasionally colouring matter. 

 The seeds are oily, the root is some- 



269. THE PAPAW-TREE (CARICA PA- 

 PAYA) 1, BLOSSOM; 2, FRUIT. 

 270. SCARLET BEGONIA (BE- 

 GONIA COCCINEA). 271. MAN- 

 CHINEEL (HIPPOMANE MAN- 

 CINELLA). 



der contains four genera, the 

 chief of which is the genus Be- 

 gonia, from which the order 

 takes its name. The plants be- 

 longing to this order inhabit 

 tropical regions. They have 

 alternate stipulate leaves and 

 monoecious flowers ; perianth pe- 

 taloid, the tube adherent to the 

 ovary ; stamens numerous ; ovary 

 inferior, tri-locular,multi-ovular; 

 capsule triangular, loculicidal, 



three-valvular; embryo exalbuminous. These plants contain 

 oxalic acid, the presence of which, in conjunction with stipules 

 and the nature of the perianth, causes them to approach the 

 Rwnex tribe, in which genus of the natural order Polygonacece 

 the sorrel and water-dock are included. Numerous species are 



272. THE CASTOR-OIL PLANT (RICT- 

 NUS COHMUNIS). 273. THE 

 COMMON HOP ( HUMULUS 

 LUPUL0S). 



times feculent. The Euplwrbicc, 

 the type of this natural order, 

 present an aspect of great va- 

 riety ; certain members possess 

 a fleshy stem angular and spiny, 

 very much resembling cactuses ; 

 others have normal leaves and 

 stems. Many of the African, 

 Arabian, and Indian species fur- 

 nish an exudation, which, when 

 thickened by the sun, becomes 

 the commercial euphorbium. 

 The manchineel (Hippomane 



Mancinella, Fig. 271) is a fine tree of intertropical America, 

 celebrated for its peculiarly poisonous qualties. If accounts 

 are to be trusted, it is certain death for an individual to sleep 

 under a tree of this species ; and even rain which touches the 

 skin after having fallen upon the leaves of this tree raises a 



269 



