123 ROSACES. 



Great Orme'sHead, on limestone cliffs, very rare; a native? Wal.ton ; fl. May- 



nate, lobas obtuse, margins woolly. Petals small, persistent. Stifles about 3. 

 t'l'-i'it i in. diam., globose, shining, red. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, Dahuria, 

 W. Asia to the Himalaya. 



ORDER XXVIII. SAXIFRAGES. 

 Tribes SAXIFRAG'E^E proper and RIBE'SIE/E. 



Shrubs or herbs. Leaves alternate or opposite ; stipules 0, or aduate to 

 the often dilated petiole. Calyx free or more or less adnate to the 

 ovary, 5- rarely 4-lobed, valvate or imbricate in bud. Petals 5, rarely 

 4 or 0, imbricate in bud. Stamens 5 or 10, rarely 4 or 8, perigymms, 

 free ; anthers dorsally inserted, connective frequently glandular at 

 the back. Disk tumid, annular or glandular. Carpels 2 or more, 

 usually connate into a 2- rarely a 1-celled ovary ; styles as many as 

 cells, free or combined, stigmas capitellate ; ovules many, 2-seriate, pla- 

 centas attached to the inner angles of the cells, parietal in the 1-celled 

 ovaries. Fruit a 1-3-celled berry or capsule, or of 2 or more follicles, 

 many -seeded. Seeds small, albumen copious fleshy or homy ; embryo 

 minute, terete or clavate. DISTRIB. (of the British tribes). Temp, and 

 Arctic regions of the N. hemisphere ; a few occur on lofty tropical moun- 

 tains and in the S. hemisphere ; genera 19 ; species 250. AFFINITIES. So 

 close to Rosaceae and Crassulaceaz as to be scarcely separable ; also allied to 

 Lythracem, Rhizophorccc, and Droscracece. PROPERTIES unimportant. 

 TRIBE I. SAXIF'RAGE.ffi proper. Herbs. Flowers 4-5-merous. Ovary 

 1-3-celled. Petals 5. Stament 10. Fruit capsular. 



Ovary 2-celled ; styles 2 1. Saxifraga. 



Petals 0. Stamens 8 or 10. Ovary 1-celled ; styles 2 2. Chrysosplenium. 



Petals 5. Stamens 5. Ovary 1-celled ; stigmas 3-4 3. Parnassia. 



TRIBE II. RIBE SIE/E. Shrubs. Ovary 1-celled. Fruit a berry. 



1. SAXIF'RAGA, L. SAXIFRAGE. 



Perennial, rarely annual herbs. Leaves various, radical and cauline ; 

 petiole sheathing. Flowers cymose white or yellow, rarely red or purple. 

 Calyx-tube free or partially adnate to the ovary ; lobes 5, imbricate. 

 Petals 5. Stamens 10, rarely 5. Ovary superior or partially inferior, 

 2-lobed, 2-celled ; styles 2 ; placentas on the inner angles of the cells. 

 Capsule 2-beaked, 2-valved between the beaks, many-seeded. Seeds small, 

 smooth or rough. DISTRIB. N. and S. temp, and Arctic zones; absent in 

 Australia, S. Africa, and the Pacific ; species 160. ETYM. Saxiii/i and 

 frango, from this species rooting into rocks and breaking them up. 



SECTION' 1. Porphyr'ion, Tausch. Perennial. Stems trailing, leafy. 

 Leaves opposite, small, with a pore at the tip, ciliate. Flowers solitary, 

 subsessile. Sepals erect in fruit. 



1. S. oppositifo lia, L. ; tufted, leaves small 4-farious ovate-oblong. 



