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Chapter V. 



Order V.— PITTOSPOllEaE. The Pitcliy Seed Family. 



Characteu of the Order. — Slinibsortrees with alternate 

 or wliorlt'd oxstipulate evergreen leaves, and regular tlowers. 

 Sepals 5, imbricate. Petals long, witli ereet claws and spread- 

 ing limbs, imbricate. Stamens 5, free, hypogynous, erect, with 

 oblong or sagittate anthers. Ovary 1 or 2, rarely 3-5 celled 



(often imperfectly) with a short or long style. Ovules many, 

 ])lacentas attached to the septa. Capsule usually bursting by 

 woody \alves, wliich bear the placentas on tlie middle. Seeds 

 with a minute embryo in bard albiunen. — Handbook of New 

 Zealand Flora, p. 18. 



Description of the Order. — 



HIS order, which is a small one, is found chiefly in Australia. It is 

 represented only by Fittosporum in India and its islands ; the isles of 

 the Pacific, and on the continent of Africa. In America it is unknown. 

 In New Zealand it consists of one genus only, divided into more than 

 twelve species. The name of the order is due to the pitcliy, or glutinous 

 matter which euA'elopes the ovules, or seeds. 



GENUS I. 

 PITTOSPORUM. fLiiiiiJ The Pittosporum. 



Generic Chahacter. — Flowers often polygamous. 

 Sepals free. Petals usually recurved. Filaments subulate. 

 Ovary perfectly, or imperfectly 2-5 celled. Capsule woody or 



coriaceous. Seeds immersed in a transparent gluten. — Hand- 

 hook of New Zealand Flora, p. IS. 



Description, etc. — In New Zealand this genus embraces the following species, 

 besides a few others which have been added of late years : — (1.) P. tenvifolium ; 



