HYPERICINE/E. I. VISMIA. 



599 



1 5 months to ripen its fruit, and hence both green and ripe fruit 

 are together on the tree. In gathering for the table in this 

 country, the fruit should be carefully cut off with a few leaves 

 attached, and thus garnished sent to the dessert. By allowing 

 the fruit to remain, the trees will at all times have green and yel- 

 low fruit, which, with the shewy leaves and fragrant white blos- 

 soms, form in spring a charming ornament. 



ORDER XL. HYPERICI'NEjE. D. C. theor. elem. ed. 

 1. p. 214. fl. fr. 4. p. 860. Chois. prod. hyp. 32. D. C. 

 prod. l.p. 541. Hyperica, Jtiss. gen. p. 254. 



Calyx 4-5-parted or 4-5-sepalled, permanent, usually unequal, 

 the 2 outer ones small, the 3 inner ones largest, usually dotted 

 and glandularly-toothed. Petals 4-5 (f. 103. c.), hypogynous, 

 alternating with the lobes of the calyx, twisted in the bud, 

 commonly yellow and veined, sometimes full of black dots. 

 Stamens numerous, usually indefinite, collected together at the 

 base into small bundles (f. 102. e.), very rarely free, or mona- 

 delphous, with long filaments and yellow, minute, oscillatory 

 anthers. Ovary], free. Styles numerous (f. 102. a. f. 103.^'.), 

 but sometimes joined into one. Stigmas simple, rarely capitate. 

 Capsules many-valved (f. 103. t. f. 102. a.), many-celled ; cells 

 equalling the styles in number. Central placenta entire or many- 

 parted, fixed to the inflexed margins of the valves. Seeds 

 numerous, commonly terete, rarely flat. Integument double, 

 both membranous. Embryo straight, with an inferior radicle, 

 destitute of albumen. Herbs, shrubs, subshrubs and trees, 

 beset with glands, and abounding in a yellow resinous juice, 

 which is usually purgative or anthelmutic, and so very analogous 

 to gamboge, that the juice of Vismia Guianensis and several other 

 species have received the name of American gamboge. Most of 

 the Hypericlneee are bitter and slightly astringent, whence they 

 have been used as febrifuges. Leaves exstipulate, opposite, very 

 rarely alternate, crenated, sessile, or on very short petioles, full of 

 pellucid and black dots, seldom without, feather-nerved. Flowers 

 terminal or axillary, stalked or sessile, leafy or nakedly-panicled, 

 but usually bracteate. This order may be easily distinguished 

 from the preceding orders in abounding in resinous juice. It 

 differs from Auranliacece in having opposite, simple leaves, and 

 from Guttifereae in the anthers being oscillatory, not adnate. 



Synopsis of the genera. 



Tribe I. 



VISMIE V ^E. Fruit baccate (f. 102. a.). Seeds terete. Planters 

 in leaflets, racemose or corymbose, distinct, terminal panicles. 

 Shrubs with stalked leaves. 



1 VI'SMIA. Berry membranous. Styles 5 (f. 102. a.), 

 crowned by 5 peltate stigmas. Stamens disposed in 5 bundles 

 (f. 102. e.\ each bundle alternating with a gland. Calyx 5- 

 parted. Petals 5, usually villous within. 



Tribe II. 



HYPERI'CE.*:. Fruit capsular. Seeds terete. Flowers ter- 

 minal and axillary, corymbose. Shrubs and herbs usually with 

 sessile leaves. 



2 ANDROS^ V MUM. Capsule baccate, 1 -celled. Calyx 5- 

 parted. Petals 5. Styles 3. Stamens numerous, monadelphous 

 at the base (D. C.) disposed in 3 sets (Smith). 



3 HYPE'RICUM. Capsule membranous. Styles 3-5, variable 

 in number. Stamens indefinite, rarely definite, disposed in 3-5 

 bundles at the base, rarely free. Petals 5. Sepals 5, unequal, 

 more or less connected at the base. 



4 ELO'DEA. Capsule partly 3-celled, many-seeded. Styles 3. 

 Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5, with nectariferous claws. Stamens 

 9-15, growing in 3 parcels. 



5 SARO'THRA. Capsule 3-valved, 1-celled, margins of the 

 valves bearing the seeds. Stamens 5- C, free. Calyx 5-parted. 

 Petals 5, narrow. 



6 LANCRKTIA. Calyx of 4-5 equal sepals. Petals 4-5. 

 Stamens 10, free, 5 of which are opposite the petals and shorter. 

 Styles 4-5. 



A'SCYRUM. Calyx of 4 sepals, 2 outer ones small, 2 inner 

 large. Petals 4. Stamens numerous, hardly connected 

 at the base. Styles 1-3. 



Tribe III. 



EUCRYPHIEA. Fruit capsular (f. 103. i.~). Seeds flat, winged. 

 Styles 3-12 (f. 103. j.). Shrubs and trees with stalked leaves. 

 Flowers axillary, solitary, or disposed in terminal cymes cr 

 panicles. 



8 CARPODONTOS. Sepals and petals 4. Styles 5-8. Capsule 

 woody, with filiform placentas and boat-shaped cells. Ovary 

 villous. Stamens numerous. 



9 EUCRY'FHJA. Sepals and petals 5 (f. 103. c.). Styles 12 

 (f. 103. j.). Stamens numerous, rather connected at the base. 

 Carpels boat-shaped, hanging by funicles (f. 103. e.). 



10 ELIE'A. Sepals and petals 5. Stamens numerous, dis- 

 posed in 3 bundles. Styles 3. Capsule 3-celled, 3-valved. 

 Seeds 2 in each cell, fixed above the base of the central trigonal 

 receptacle. 



11 CRATO'XYLUM. Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5, Stamens nu- 

 merous, collected into 3 bundles. Styles and stigmas 3. Cap- 

 sule 3-celled, 3-valved, with a dissepiment in the middle of each 

 valve. 



12 HARO'NGA. Sepals and petals 5. Stamens 15, collected 

 into 5 bundles. Fruit baccate, 5-celled ; cells 2-3-seeded. 

 Styles and stigmas 5. 



Tribe I. 



VISMIE 1 ^ (Chois. prod. hyp. 33.) Fruit a berry. Flowers 

 in distinct, leafless, racemose or corymbose terminal panicles. 

 Shrubs or trees with opposite, usually stalked leaves. 



I. VI'SMIA (in honour of M. de Visme, a Lisbon merchant), 

 Vand. in Rcem. script, hisp. p. 138. t. 7. f. 4. Chois. prod. hyp. 

 34. D. C. prod. l.p. 542. 



LIN. SYST. Polyadelphia, Polyandria. Calyx 5-parted. Petals 

 5, usually villous on the inside. Berry membranaceous. Styles 

 5 (f. 102. a.). Stigmas peltate. Stamens numerous, disposed 

 into 5 bundles (f. 102. e.), opposite the petals, alternating with 5 

 glands or scales. Anthers small, roundish, 2-celled, bursting 

 lengthwise. Seeds with a double covering. Shrubs and trees, 

 with quadrangular, opposite branches. Leaves entire, usually 

 covered with rufescent down, and generally full of glandular 

 and pellucid dots. Flowers disposed in terminal, branched pa- 

 nicles or cymes. Buds ovate or oblong. Flowers of all yellow 

 or greenish. A resinous yellow juice flows from all parts of the 

 plant when cut or broken, resembling gamboge. 



1 V. OLA' BRA (Ruiz et Pav. syst. fl. per. p. 183.) branches 



