532 COMMELYNACE.E ALISMACE.E BUTOMACE.E. 



Livistona chinensis, Harina caryotoides, Areca triandra, Corypha umbra- 

 culifera? Phoenix sylvestiis. 



1085. Order 202. Commei7iiBcee,the Spider-wort Family. (Mono- 

 hypogyn.) Perianth in 2 verticils; outer (calyx) herbaceous and tripar- 

 tite; inner (corolla) petaloid, tripartite or trifid. Stamens 6 or fewer, 

 hypogynous, some of them occasionally abortive or deformed ; anthers 

 introrse. Ovary 3-celled ; ovules few in each cell ; style 1 ; stigma 

 1. Fruit a 2-3-celled, 2-3-valved capsule, with loculicidal dehiscence. 

 Seeds often in pairs, with a lateral and linear hilum ; embryo pulley- 

 shaped, antitropal, in a cavity of fleshy albumen, remote from the 

 hilum. Herbs with flat narrow leaves, which are usually sheathing 

 at the base. Natives chiefly of warm climates. Some have fleshy 

 rhizomes, which are used for food. Tradescantias, Spider-worts, have 

 moniliform stamina! hairs, in which a movement of granules is dis- 

 tinctly seen under the microscope (fig. 225). There are 17 genera, 

 and 264 species. Examples Commelyna, Tradescantia, Mayaca. 



1086. Order 203. Aiismacete, the Water-plantain Family. (Mono- 

 hypog.) Perianth in 6 divisions and 2 verticils ; outer whorl usually 

 herbaceous ; inner usually petaloid ; sometimes the perianth is want- 

 ing. Stamens definite or 00, hypogynous ; anthers introrse or extrorse, 

 Ovaries 3, 6, or more, distinct or united ; ovules erect or ascending, 

 solitary or in pairs. Styles and stigmas equal to the number of car- 

 pels. Fruit of several dry, indehiscent carpidia. Seeds 1-2 in each 

 carpel, exalbuminous (fig. 525) ; embryo straight, or curved like a 

 horse-shoe; radicle next the hilum. Plants growing in flowing or 

 stagnant water, usually with a creeping rhizome, parallel-veined leaves, 

 and hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers. Natives both of tropical and 

 temperate regions. The limits of the order are not well defined. It 

 has been divided into two suborders : 1. Alismese, inner perianth 

 petaloid, anthers introrse, embryo curved or hooked. 2. Juncaginese, 

 inner perianth herbaceous, sometimes perianth 0, anthers extrorse, 

 embryo straight, plumule coming through a slit in the embryo (fig. 

 504). They have few important properties. Some are acrid, others 

 have eatable rhizomes. There are 5 known genera, and about 70 

 species. Examples Alisma, Sagittaria; Triglochin, Scheuchzeria. 



1087. Order 204. Bntomacese, the Flowering-rush Family. (Mono- 

 hypog.) Perianth of 6 parts, in 2 verticils (fig. 381, 2) ; outer usually 

 herbaceous ; inner petaloid. Stamens definite (fig. 381, 2, eo, ez), or 

 00, hypogynous. Ovaries 3, 6, or more, distinct or united, 1 -celled 

 (fig. 381) ; ovules 00 ; stigmas simple, as many as the carpels. Fruit 

 consisting of several follicles, which are either distinct (fig. 393) and 

 beaked, or combined. Seeds 00, minute, attached to the whole inner 

 surface of the pericarp (fig. 394), exalbuminous ; embryo often curved 

 like a horse-shoe; radicle next the hilum. Aquatic plants, often 

 lactescent, with parallel-veined leaves, and frequently umbellate 



