PAPAVEKACE^E. 359 



occasionally, the corolla is absent, and the calyx consists of 4-6 

 segments. Stamens 00; anthers adnate, dithecal, introrse, with longi- 

 tudinal dehiscence. Ovary free, tri-quinquelocular; style single; 

 stigma persistent, either a truncated point, or large and peltate with 

 5 angles ; ovules anatropal. Capsule 3-5-celled, with loculicidal 

 dehiscence. Seeds very numerous, small, attached to large placentas 

 which project from the axis into the cavity of the cells ; albumen 

 copious ; embryo cylindrical, lying at the base of the seed ; radicle 

 pointing to the hilum. Herbaceous plants, found in boggy places, 

 having radical leaves, the petioles of which are folded, and cohere so 

 as to form ascidia or hollow tubes (fig. 187). Scapes one or more 

 flowered. The plants are found in North America and Guiana. Their 

 properties are not known. Lindley enumerates 2 genera, including 7 

 species. Examples Sarracenia, Heliamphora. 



755. Order 11. Pnpaveracwe, the Poppy Family. (Polypet. 

 Hypog.) Sepals 2, deciduous. Petals hypogynous, usually 4, cruciate, 

 sometimes a multiple of 4, regular, rarely wanting. Stamens hypo- 

 gynous, usually 00, sometimes a multiple of 4 ; anthers dithecal, in- 

 nate. Ovary solitary; style short or none; stigmas 2, or many and 

 radiating (fig. 409); ovules 00, anatropal (fig. 421). Fruit unilocu- 

 lar, either siliquseform with two, or capsular with several parietal 

 placentas. Seeds numerous; albumen between fleshy and oily; 

 embryo minute, at the base of the albumen, with plano-convex coty- 

 ledons. Herbs or shrubs, usually with milky or coloured juice, 

 having alternate exstipulate leaves, and long one-flowered peduncles. 

 The plants belonging to this order are chiefly European. The species, 

 however, are found scattered over tropical America, Asia, China, New 

 Holland, Cape of Good Hope, &c. Lindley mentions 18 known 

 genera, and 130 species. Examples Papaver, Meconopsis, Esch- 

 scholtzia, Glaucium, Chelidonium. 



756. The order possesses well-marked narcotic properties. Opium 

 is the concrete milky juice procured from the unripe capsules of 

 Papaver somniferum, and its varieties. The plant is a native of Western 

 Asia, and probably also of the south of Europe; but it has been dis- 

 tributed over various countries. There are five kinds of opium known, 

 viz. Turkey, Egyptian, East Indian, European, and Persian ; of which 

 the first is the kind chiefly used in Britain. The most important 

 active principle in opium is the alkaloid called morphia. There are 

 other crystalline principles found in it, such as codeia and narcotine ; 

 and an acid called meconic acid, which constitutes with sulphuric acid 

 the solvent of the active principles. According to various circum- 

 stances, opium may act as a stimulant, a narcotic, anodyne, or diapho- 

 retic. The seeds of the Opium Poppy yield a bland, wholesome oil. 

 Chelidonium majitSj Celandine, yields an orange-coloured juice, which 

 is said to have acrid properties. In this plant, observations were made 



