140 BALA>!OPHOREiE. [BalanopJiorecB . 



Okder LY. BALANOPHORE^. 



Succulent herbs, parasites on roots. Flowers in heads or spikes, unisexual. 

 Perianth various, sometimes wanting, usually simple ; the parts often in a 

 ternary number and always valvate in aestivation. Stamens various, usually 3. 

 Ovaiy adherent, of 1 or rarely 3 or more cai-pels, more or less coherent, with 

 1 pendulous ovule in each. Seed either albuminous, with a small embiyo, 

 or apparently consisting of a homogeneous mass. — Stems reduced to a simple 

 or branched tuberous rhizome, with 1 or more short thick peduncles or flower- 

 ing branches. Leaves and bracts reduced to scales, coloured like the stem. 



A small Order, belonging chiefly to the tropical and subtropical mountain regions of Asia 

 and S. America, with a few African or Australian species, and one extending into southern 

 Em'ope. 



1. BALANOPHORA, Forst. 



Male flowers : Perianth of 3 to 6 divisions. Stamens connate wdth 3 or 6 

 anthers, opening outwards. Female flowers intermixed Tvdth bracts or inserted 

 on theii- petioles. Perianth none. Cai-pel and style 1. Seed homogeneous. 



A small genus, limited to tropical and subtropical Asia and tropical Australia. 



1. B. Harlandi, /. D. Hook., in Trans. Sac. Linn. Lond. xxii. 426, t. 75. 

 A small species, ^^dth a lobed rhizome, without the pustules of B. diolca. 

 Flower-heads unisexual, globular, on a short thick peduncle, the total height 

 varying from 1 to 3 in. Scales or bracts somewhat leafy, forming an involucre 

 at the base of the peduncle. Female flowers sessile in the head, not inserted 

 on bracts. Stamens in the males 3. 



Hongkong, Harlaud ; on Moimt Gough, Wilford. Not known from elsewhere. 



Order LYI. LORANTHACE^. 



Calyx-tube adnate, the limb entii'e or ^dth as many teeth or lobes as petals. 

 Petals 4 to 8, free or united in a lobed corolla, inserted round an epigpious 

 disk, valvate in the bud, rarely wanting. Stamens as many, opposite to and 

 usually inserted on the petals. Ovary adherent, with 1 (or 3) pendulous 

 ovules, usually not perceptible till the flower is past. Style or stigma simple. 

 Fruit an indehiscent berry, with a single seed. Albumen fleshy. Embiyo 

 straight, wdth a superior radicle. — Shnibs, usually much branched, parasitical 

 on the branches of trees or sln-ubs, or sometimes so near theii- roots as to 

 appear ten-estrial. Leaves opposite or rarely alternate, usually thick and 

 leatherJ^ Bracts under each flower usually connate in a little cup, which 

 often has the appearance of a small external calyx. 



A considerable Order, chiefly abundant within or near the tropics in both the New and the 

 Old World, with a very few species from more temperate regions in the southern as well as 

 the northern hemisphere. 



Flowers hermaphrodite, tubular. Anthers 2-ceUed 1. Loranthus. 



Flowers unisexual, minute. Anthers sessile, opening in many pores . . 2. ViscUM. 



1. LORANTHUS, Linn. 



Flowers hennaphrodite. Calyx-limb short, truncate or toothed. Petals 4 

 to 8 (usually 4), more or less united in a tubular corolla. Stamens inserted 



