248 BIXACEAE. 



Family 6. BIXACEAE Reiehenb. 



Annatto Family. 



Shrubs or small trees. Leaves alternate, simple, toothed, lobed or entire. 

 Flowers perfect. Calyx of 4 or 5 usually imbricated sepals. Corolla want- 

 ing, or of as many petals as the sepals, deciduous. Stamens few or many. 

 Anthers opening by apical chinks. Ovary superior, 1-celled, with 2-several 

 parietal placentae which are sometimes well intruded. Styles as many as 

 the placentae, but united. Ovules 2-many on each placenta. Fruit a 

 valvate capsule, the valves bearing- the placentae. Seeds numerous, often 

 hairy. Four genera with about 20 species, of tropical regions. 



Bixa Orellana L., Annatto, Arnotto, of tropical America, occasionally 

 grown for interest, is a shrub or small tree, up to 12° high, with glabrous, 

 slender-petioled, ovate, entire leaves 4'-7' long, acuminate at the apex and 

 cordate at the base ; its white or pink flowers are in terminal corymbs, with 5 

 deciduous sepals, 5 petals about 8" long, many stamens and a single pistil, the 

 ovary ripening into a 2-valved, soft-spiny, ovoid capsule about 1' long containing 

 many obpyramidal seeds, which yield the yellow dye. 



Family 7. FLACOURTIACEAE Lindl. 



Flacourtia Family. 



Trees or shrubs, with alternate estipulate petioled simple leaves, and 

 small, often dioecious, regular flowers, mostly in axillary clusters. Sepals 

 usually 4 or 5 and imbricated. Petals present, or wanting. Stamens 

 hypogynous, usually numerous; anthers 2-celled. Ovary superior, 1-sev- 

 eral-celled; style mostly short. Fruit baccate, drupaceous or capsular. 

 About 70 genera and many species, of tropical distribution. There are no 

 native nor naturalized species in the Bennuda Flora. 



Flacourtia Ramontchi L'Her., Madagascar Plum, Governor's Plum, of 

 Madagascar, occasionally planted, is a tree up to 30° high or more, with thin, 

 ovate to elliptic, pointed, crenate leaves 2'-3' long, small racemose yellowish 

 flowers without petals, mostly dioecious, and globose nearly black berry-like 

 fruits about A' in diameter. 



Lefroy records the introduction of Flacourtia prunifdlia H.B.K., of 

 northern South America, at Mt. Langton, prior to 1877, and remarks that it 

 did not appear to thrive ; Jones also mentions it, and H. B. Small records its 

 disappearance prior to 1901. 



Aberia Caffra Harv. & Sonder, Kei Apple, South African, a shrub or small 

 tree, armed with stout thorns 2'-3' long, the obovate-cuneate, entire obtuse 

 glabrous leaves l^'-3' long, the small clustered apetalous axillary flowers 

 dioecious, the fruit depressed-globose, I'-li' in diameter, has occasionally been 

 planted. 



Family 8. VIOLACEAE DC. 

 Violet Family. 



Herbs, shrubs, or rarely trees, with basal or alternate, simple, lobed or 

 entire stipulate leaves and solitary or clustered, perfect, mostly irregular 

 flowers. Sepals 5. Petals 5, hypogynous, imbricated in the bud, the 

 lower one larger or with a posterior spur. Stamens 5; anthers erect, con- 



