50 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



Forty or more species of Acer (maple) are in cultiva- 

 tion in N.America for ornamental purposes. Acer Negun- 

 do (box elder) is exceptional in having compound leaves. 



129. Hippocastanaceae (from the genus Hippocas- 

 tanum, the old generic name of the genus ^Esculus, 

 derived from the Greek meaning horse and chestnut). 

 HORSE-CHESTNUT FAMILY. Fig. 35. Trees or shrubs: 

 leaves opposite, exstipulate, palmately 3 9-foliate: flow- 

 ers, some bisexual, some staminate, irregular; sepals 5, 

 separate or connate, imbricated; petals 4-5, unequal, 

 clawed; stamens 5-8, separate; disk present, extra- 

 staminal, often inequilateral; ovary 3-celled; ovules 2 

 in each cell; style and stigma 1: fruit usually 1-celled 

 and 1-seeded, capsular, 3-valved; seeds very large, 

 exalbuminous. 



There are 2 genera and 22 species of general dis- 

 tribution in the north temperate zone. The family is 

 closely related to the Sapinuaceae, with which it is often 

 united, and from which it differs only in its larger 

 flowers, palmately compound leaves and large seeds. 

 The Hippocastanaceae, Sapindacese, Melianthacese, 



2 a, 



35. ACEHACE-E: 1. Acer, a, flower; 6, fruit. HIPPOCASTANACE^E: 



2. ^sculus, a, flower; -b, floral diagram; c, fruit. SAPINDACE.E: 



3. Sapindus, flower. 4. Kcelreuteria, vertical section fruit. 



and some Aceraceae are almost the only plants with 

 extra-staminal disks. 



The horse-chestnut (JEsculus Hippocastanum) is a 

 well-known shade tree, said to have been introduced 

 into Europe by Clusius in 1575. The seeds, rich in 

 starch, have been used for fodder. They have also been 

 used to form the principal part of a certain kind of 

 snuff, and the oil contained has been used to a slight 

 extent in medicine. The roots of ^Esculus contain sapo- 

 nin and have been used, like soapberry, for washing. 



Several species of ^Esculus are in cultivation in 

 N. America. M. glabra and M. octandra, natives of, the 

 central United States, are called buckeyes. 



130. Sapindacese (from the genus Sapindus, a con- 

 traction of the Latin sapo-indicus, Indian soap). SOAP- 

 BERRY FAMILY. Fig. 35. Trees or shrubs, rarely herbs, 

 often climbing: leaves usually alternate, mostly com- 

 pound, sometimes ternately, sometimes pinnately de- 

 compound: flowers unisexual or polygamous, regular or 

 irregular (i.e. obliquely unsymmetrical), small; sepals 

 4-5, jmbricated or rarely valvate; petals 4-5, small or 

 wanting, usually with scales or hairs at the base inside; 

 disk well developed, situated between the petals and 

 the stamens (extrastaminal) ; stamens usually 10 in 2 

 whorls, more or less united at the base; ovary superior, 

 mostly 3-celled and -deeply 3-lobed; ovules typically 

 1 in each cell; style 1: fruit very diverse, a firm or 

 bladdery capsule, a berry, nut, or winged fruit; seeds 

 without endosperm. 



The 118 genera and about 1,000 species are of trop- 



ical distribution. Only one species reaches northward 

 as far as Kansas. The family is closely related to the 

 Staphyleacece, Hippocastanacese, and Aceraceae, which 

 see for differences; and more distantly to the Celastra- 

 ceae. The small flowers, usually appendaged petals, 

 10 stamens, extra-staminal disk, and 3-celled, few- 

 seeded fruit are usually distinctive. 



The climbing Sapindacese often have very peculiar 

 stems in which many separate cambium rings have 

 taken part. This renders the cross-section very peculiar, 

 making it appear sometimes as a bundle of woody 

 ropes tied together, with bark between them. 



The Sapindacese are of considerable economic impor- 

 tance. The fruits of many are used locally for food, 

 sometimes the flesh of the fruit, sometimes the aril 

 being of importance. The seeds of Sapindus and other 

 genera are often roasted and eaten as food. Oil is 

 obtained from the seeds of others. Some are used locally 

 for medicine. The seeds and other parts of many species 

 are very poisonous, the fruits of species of Sapindus be- 

 ing used to poison fish. The juice of Patdlinia pinnntn 

 (cururu) is used by savages in Guiana to poison their 

 arrows. The Lechcheuquana bee collects honey from 

 Serjania lethalis which, when eaten even in small 

 quantities, produces raving madness or even death. 

 The bark and berries of many species (e.g., the soap 

 tree, Sapindus) contain saponin which reacts like soap, 

 on which account they are used for washing. Yellow 

 and black dyes, used as cosmetics, are obtained from 

 certain species. The very hard wood of certain 

 Sapindaceae is much prized for timber. The hard, 

 spherical, black seeds of Sapindus Saponaria are strung 

 as beads. 



There are 15 or more genera of true Sapindaceae grown 

 in America. Koslreuteria (Varnish Tree) is hardy and 

 ornamental. Cardiospermum (Balloon Vine) is a tender 

 annual with queer fruit. Xanthoceras is a hardy orna- 

 mental tree. Paullinia is a greenhouse climbing shrub. 

 The following are grown only in the southern states or 

 California: Greyia; Melicocca (Spanish Lime); Blighia 

 (Akee Tree); Dodonsea; Ungnadia (Mexican or Spanish 

 Buckeye); Sapindus (Soapberry). 



The following cultivated genera are now referred to 

 other families: Melianthus (Melianthaceae) ; ^Esculus 

 (Hippocastanacese); Acer (Aceraceso); Ptseroxylon 

 (Meliaceae); Staphylea (Staphyleaceoe) ; Euscaphis 

 (Staphyleacese) ; Turpinia (Staphylcaceae). 



131. Melianthaceas (from the genus Melianthus, 

 derived from the Greek meaning honey and flower). 

 MELIANTHUS FAMILY. Shrubs or trees: leaves alter- 

 nate, entire or pinnate: flowers bisexual, irregular, 

 soon inverted; sepals 5, imbricated; petals 4-5; sta- 

 mens 4-5, or 10, free or slightly connate at the base, 

 alternating with the petals; disk present, extrastaminal, 

 crescent-shaped, or annular with 10 projections; carpels 

 4-5; ovary 4-5-celled; ovules 1 to many in each cell; 

 style 1; stigma 4-5-lobed: fruit a capsule; seeds albu- 

 minous, sometimes arillate. 



All the 3 genera and 17 species are natives of Africa. 

 The Melianthacea; were formerly united with the 

 Sapindaceas, with which they agree in the extra- 

 staminal disk, but they differ in the vertically bisym- 

 metrical, not obliquely bisymmetrical, flowers, and 

 more abundant endosperm. 



In southern California, species of Melianthus are 

 grown for ornament. 



132. Balsaminacese (from Balsamina, the old name 

 of the genus Impatiens, probably derived from balassan, 

 the Arabic name of these plants). BALSAM FAMILY. Fig. 

 36. Herbs, very rarely epiphytic: leaves various: flowers 

 bisexual, irregular, spurred, nodding; sepals 3-5, irreg- 

 ular, imbricated often petaloid, the posterior very 

 large and sack-like, and gradually prolonged backward 

 into a honey-spur; petals 5, alternate with the sepals, 

 separate, or united so as to appear as 3, lower petals 

 much the larger; stamens 5, hypogynous, closely 



