CLASSIFICATION OF ANGIOSPERMS. 257 



iioidcs of New Granada and several other species of Brazil, Bro- 

 siiiiiim spiiriuin of Jamaica, Cccropia peltata of the West Indies 

 and South America, and Casiilloa clastica of Mexico and the West 

 Indies. Ficits bciii^Iialciisis of India and tropical Africa, and 

 Fie us Tsicla of India, yield gum-lac. luciis altisstiiia and I', 

 rcligiosa of tropical Asia yield shellac on puncture of the stems 

 hy a hemipterous insect (Coccus lacca). 



A yellow coloring principle is found in Citilraiiia jaz'aiicnsis 

 of tropical Asia and Africa, CJiloropIiora tuictoria of Mexico, 

 Madura auraufiaca {Toxyloii poniifcruiii ) or osage orange, a 

 hedge plant of North America ; Ficus tiiicloria of the Friendly 

 Islands and F. aspcrr'uua of India. A fixed oil is obtained from 

 Artocarpus Blunici of Java. 



A large number of the plants of the Moraeeae yield edible 

 fruits besides the fig tree already described, as the bre.xd-fruit 

 trees (Artocarpus iucisa) of the Sunda Islands and the jack-tree 

 (A. iutcgrifolia) of the East Indies, the white mulberry (Morus 

 alba) and the i;lack irur.r.ERRv (Morns iiii^ra). 



d'he leaves of the white mulberry (Morus alba) indigenous 

 to China and cultivated since the twelfth century in Em-<jpe and 

 nov.' in cultivation to a limited extent in the United States, are 

 the chief food of the silkworm. 



c. FAMILY URTICACE^. The plants belonging to the 

 Crticaceas or Nettle Family are chiefly herbs with mostly petiolate, 

 stipulate, simple leaves. The flowers are small and with 2 to 5 

 distinct or more or less united sepals. The fruit is an akene ; 

 the embryo is straight- and surrounded by an oily endosperm. 

 The stems and leaves of several of the genera are characterized 

 1)\- stinging hairs, this being especially true of the sub-group to 

 which the genus Urtica or stinging nettle belongs. Of the sting- 

 ing nettles the following are used in medicine: Urtica dioica of 

 Europe and naturalized in the L'^nitcd States, U. spatulata of 

 Timor, Laportca crciiulata of tropical Asia. L. nwroidcs of 

 Queensland, and Girardinia palinata of India. In the small 

 nettle ( Urtica urcns) of Europe and the United States an alka- 

 loid has been found, and Laportca stinnilaus has been used as a 

 fish poison. Bochmcria cordata of Brazil is used as a substitute 

 for Arnica. The fillers of a number of the Urticacege have been 



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