3i8 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



phora tinctoria of Southern Europe and Africa and in Argitham- 

 nia tricuspidata lanceolata of Chile; an indigo-hke principle is 

 obtained from Mercurialis perennis of Europe. The fresh latex 

 of Euphorbia phosphorca of Brazil is phosphorescent. 



Quite a number of the seeds of this family contain fatty oils. 

 The Chinese Tallow tree {Sapiiim sehiferum) yields a fat which 

 is used for burning and for technical purposes; a similar fat is 

 obtained from the seeds of several species of Aleurites and 

 Euphorbia. 



Tapioca starch is derived from the tuberous roots of Manihot 

 utilissima, extensively cultivated in tropical countries ; other spe- 

 cies of Manihot also yield starchy food products. 



Edible fruits are obtained from the following genera : Phyl- 

 lanthus, Baccaurea and Antidesma ; the seeds of Hevea brasiliana 

 are edible ; a sweet sap is found in Baccaurea ramiflora of Cochin 

 China and Brazil ; a peptone-like ferment is found in Euphorbia 

 heterodoxa of South America and other species of Euphorbia. 



XVII. ORDER SAPINDALES. 



The plants of this order are chiefly trees and shrubs. The 

 flowers are mostly regular and the seeds usually without endo- 

 sperm. The order has a number of representatives in both trop- 

 ical and temperate regions. 



a. EAMILY CORIARACE^. This family is represented by 

 but a single genus, Coriaria. The plants are shrubs found in 

 Europe, Asia and South America, and yield several important 

 economic products. The leaves and bark of C. myrtifolia of j 

 Southern Europe and Northern Africa are rich in tannin and used 

 in dyeing. This plant also contains a narcotic principle, resem- 

 bling picrotoxin, known as coriamyrtin, which is also found prob- 

 ably in C. atropurpurea of Mexico. The leaves of Coriaria imrfi- 

 folia or tanner's sumac are coriaceous, distinctly 3-nerved, 

 astringent and bitter and were at one time substituted for senna 

 leaves. A black dye is obtained from C. ruscifolia of New Zealand 

 and Chile. While the fruits of some species are quite poisonous 

 the sap of the fleshy leaves is used in New Zealand in making 

 an intoxicating drink 



