LYTHRARIE^;. XXVII. PHYSOPODIUM. XXVIII. SYMMETRIA. TAMARISCINE^E. I. TAMARIX. 



725 



capillary, subulate at the apex. Fruit unknown. Shrub twin- 

 ing. Leaves alternate, quite entire and glabrous, lanceolate. 

 Flowers in spicate panicles, sccund, bracteolate ; pedicels tumid 

 at the apex. According to Desvaux the present genus is allied 

 to the Lythrarite, but the aestivation of the calyx, the fruit, and 

 seeds is unknown. 



1 P. VOLI/BILE (Desv. 1. c.) I? . '"'. S. Native of the Island 

 of Bourbon. Stem terete. Leaves long, lanceolate, stiff, rather 

 mucronate. 



Twining Physopodium. Shrub tw. 



Cult. See Lager stroemia for culture and propagation, p. 72 1. 



XXVIII. SYMME'TRIA (from cru^utrpta, symmetria, sym- 

 metry ; in reference to the proportion of the parts of the flower). 

 Blume, bijdr. p. 1130. D. C. prod. 3. p. 94. 



LIN. SYST. Dodecdndria, Monogynia. Calyx campanulate, 

 C-cleft. Petals 6, small, inserted in the calyx. Stamens 12, 

 alternate ones shortest, at length inflexed and marcescent. Ova- 

 rium girded by the disk, 4-celled ; cells 2-ovulate. Style thick. 

 Stigma obtuse, 4-sided. Drupe baccate, umbonate, covered by 

 the calyx, 1-3-celled; cells containing one nut each; nuts reni- 

 form, 1-seeded, covered with fibrous aril. Embryo inverted and 

 curved in the albumen. A tree, with opposite, obovate, obtuse, 

 obsoletely-denticulated, coriaceous, glabrous leaves, which are 

 full of fine parallel veins. Corymbs axillary, short. Flowers 

 small. The seeds and fruit of this genus disagree entirely with 

 the other genera of this order. 



1 S. OBOVA'TA (Blume, 1. c.) F? . S. Native of Java, in 

 mountain woods, where it is called by the inhabitants Kikit- 

 k u ran. 



Obovate-leavetl Symmetria. Tree. 



Cult. See Lagcrstrce'mia for culture and propagation, p. 724. 



ORDER XCVII. TAMARISCI'NE^E (plants agreeing with 

 Tdmarix in important characters). Desv. diss. inst. gall. lect. 

 1815. exann. sci. nat. (1825) 4. p. 344. Aug. St. Hil. mem. 

 mus. (1816) 2. p. 205. Link, enum. (1821) 1. p. 291. Tama- 

 rlscus, Tourn. inst. 661. Tamarix, Lin. gen. 375. Lara. ill. t. 

 213. Willd. act. ac. berol. (1812). 13. (ed. 1816) p. 77. 



Calyx 4-5-parted, permanent ; lobes imbricate in aestivation. 

 Petals inserted into the base of the calyx, marcescent, imbricate 

 in aestivation, equal in number to the lobes of the calyx, and 

 alternating with them. Stamens either equal in number to the 

 petals, or twice that number ; filaments either free or monadel- 

 phous. Ovarium free, superior, pyramidal, trigonal. Style short ; 

 stigmas 3. Capsule trigonal, 3-valved, 1-celled, many-seeded. 

 Placentas 3, either at the base of the cavity, or along the middle 

 of the valves. Seeds erect or ascending, oblong, compressed, 

 cotnose at the apex, exalbuminous. Embryo with a small straight 

 inferior radicle, and plano-convex oblong cotyledons. Shrubs, 

 rarely perennial suflFVuticose herbs, with twiggy branches. Leaves 

 alternate, small, scale-formed, entire, usually glaucous. Flowers 

 in close spikes or racemose spikes ; pedicels bracteate. Co- 

 rollas white or red. 



According to De Candolle, this order is allied to Porlulacece 

 from the similitude of the flowers with those of Telephium, but 

 differs in the parietal exalbuminous comose seeds ; but accord- 

 ing to Auguste St. Hilaire it is more nearly allied to Lythrarieee 

 and Onagrarice, from the former it differs in the aestivation 

 of the petals, as well as in their insertion at the base of the 

 calyx, and in the parietal seeds ; from the latter in the free ova- 



rium, and in the imbricate aestivation of the calyx. Dr. Ehren- 

 berg, however, asserts that the order has hypogynous stamens. 

 The same botanist in separating the Tdmarix Songarica of 

 Willd., and referring it to the vicinity of Rcaumuria, establishes 

 the affinity of Tamariscinece to the order Reaumuriece. 



The bark of all is slightly bitter, and probably tonic. 

 Tdmarix Gdlitca and T. Africana are remarkable for the quan- 

 tity of sulphate of soda which their ashes contain. Dr. 

 Ehrenberg found that the manna of Mount Sinai is produced by 

 a variety of Tdmarix Gdllica. This substance being analyzed 

 by M. Mitscherlich was found to contain no crystallizable 

 matter, but to consist wholly of pure mucilaginous sugar. 



Synopsis of the genera. 



1 TA'MARIX. Calyx 4-5-parted. Petals 4-5. Stamens 4-5. 

 Stigmas 3, long, glandular and oblique at the apex. Seed in- 

 serted at the base of the valves, or almost in the centre of the 

 capsule ; hairs on seeds simple. 



2 MYRICA'RIA. Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 10. 

 Stigmas 3 in a head. Seeds parietal in the middle of the valves; 

 hairs on seeds feathery. 



3 HOLOLA'CHNA. Calyx 4-5-parted. Petals 4-5. Stamens 

 8-10. Stigmas 2-4. Seeds parietal in the middle of the valves, 

 their whole surface pilose. 



I. TA'MARIX (so called from growing on the banks of the 

 Tamaris, now Tambro, on the borders of the Pyrenees). Desf. 

 aim. sc. nat. 4. p. 348. D. C. prod. 3. p. 95. Tamarix, with 

 4-5 stamens of other authors. 



LIN. SYST. Tetra-Decdndria, Trigynia. Calyx 4-5-parted. 

 Petals 4-5. Stamens 4-5, alternating with the petals, almost 

 free. Ovarium tapering to the apex. Stigmas 3, long, divari- 

 cate, glandular and oblique at the apex. Seeds erect, inserted 

 nearly at the base of the valves, or almost in the centre of the 

 capsule. Seeds tufted ; tuft composed of numerous simple 

 hairs, rising from the apex. Spikes of flowers usually disposed 

 in panicles. Flowers small, red, seldom white. 



SECT. I. OLIGADE'NIA (from oXtyoj, oligos, few, and afyv, aden, 

 a gland ; few surrounding the ovarium). Ehrenberg in Schlecht. 

 Linnaea. 2. p. 253. Gland surrounding the germ, 8-toothed. 

 Filaments 4, one between each alternate tooth of the gland. 



1 T. TETRA'NDRA (Pall. ind. taur. ex Bieb. fl. taur. 1. p. 247.) 

 glabrous, rather glaucous ; leaves lanceolate, stem-clasping, 

 adult ones diaphanous at the apex ; racemes of flowers lateral, 

 an inch and a half long ; flowers a line long ; bracteas longer 

 than the pedicels ; ovarium longer than the corolla. Ij . H. 

 Native of the south of Tauria, in valleys about Astracan and 

 Kisliar, ex Bieb. ; and probably of the island of Cyprus. T. 

 Gallica, Habl. ined. taur. 6. p. 105. There is a variety having 

 3-4 valved capsules in the same spike. 



Var. j3, octdndra (Pall, nov.act. sc. petr. 10. p. 376.) Stamens 

 8. Capsules 3-4-valved. 



Tetrandrous Tamarisk. Sh. 6 to 8 feet. 



2 T. LA'XA (Willd. act. soc. berol. 1812. vol. 13. p. 82. no. 

 10.) glabrous, rather glaucous; leaves ovate, sessile, acumi- 

 nated, erect ; racemes lateral, about an inch long ; flowers 

 remotish, shorter than a line in length ; bracteas shorter than the 

 pedicels. ^ . H. Native of Siberia, in the valleys of Astracan 

 and Kisliar, about salt lakes. Capsule reddish yellow, hardly a 

 line in length. Calycine segments orbicularly-ovate, acutish, 

 with membranous edges. 



