0(i 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



whicli is much ustxl to give bultor a rich yellow color 

 ami is also usoil in dyeinp; silks. The Carihbcaiis formerly 

 tatooetl themselves with this dye in order, it is said, to 

 prevent niosquiti>-bites. The wood is very soft and 

 sorvt>s only for tinder; the roots are aromatic and have 

 been used to color and Ha\'or soups. Maxim Hi a /ad 

 Gosfi/pium furnishes a substitute for gum tragacanth 

 in farther India. 



liisii Onllaiia is in cultivation in the West Indies, 

 where it is grown for the fruit. Several other genera 

 in the .^meriean trade, which were formerly included 

 in the Bixaceae, are now placed by ^^'a^burg in the 

 Flacourtiacea. 



149. Violacese (from the genus Viola, the ancient 

 l^tin n:uue). Violet F.\milv. Fig. 40. Herbs, shrubs 

 or sjnall trees, rarely climbing: leaves usually alternate: 

 flowers bisexual, regular or irregular; sepals .'), separate 

 or nearly so; petals .3, 1 often spurred; stamens .5, 

 hypogj'nous or sUghtly perigynous, closely connivent 

 around the style, similar or dissimilar (2 spurred); 

 ovary 1-eelled; placentic 2-5, usually 3, parietal; ovules 

 many; style 1 : fruit a firm capsule with placenta; on the 

 middle of the valves, rarelj' a berry and indehiscent. 



Violacea; has 15 genera and about 300 species, of 

 which about 200 belong to the genus Viola. These 

 genera are grouped in three tribes: the Violese, with 

 irregular flowers, foimd chiefly in Europe, Siberia and 

 North America, although the woody species are mainly 

 natives of trojiical America; the PajiiajToleie and Rin- 

 oreea, with regular flowers, are principally found in South 

 America, Africa and Australia. The f;imily is closely 

 related to the Cistaceie. The tendency to irregular 

 flowers, the peculiar stamens, the 1-celled ovary with 

 usually 3 parietal placenta", and the anatropous ovules, 

 are distinctive 



In the genus Viola and some other genera, a finger- 

 like curved nectar-secreting horn projects backward 

 from the connective of each of the two lower anthers 

 into the spur of the lower petal. In many species of 

 Viola, almost all the seeds are produced by small 

 apetalous cleistogamous flowers on short pedicels near 

 the ground in midsummer, after the normal flowering 

 period is over. These are very fertile, and quite 

 diverse in structure, and, therefore, useful in classijfica- 

 tion. Cleistogamous flowers are also produced in the 

 genus Hybanthus. The capsules of most Violacea; 

 open ela-sticaUy when ripe, the valves springing back 

 and at the same time folding on the midrib so that tlie 

 seeds are forcibly ejected as one would shoot a wet 

 apple seed from between the fingers. 



The Violacea; have been used to a certain extent in 

 medicine, their virtues being due to an alkaloid having 

 emetic and laxative properties. Hyhatilhus ipecacuanha 

 ("white ipecacuanha" of commerce) furnishes a substi- 

 tute for ipecac. Various species of Viola and other 

 genera ' have been used in many countries for skin 

 diseases, as emetics, laxatives, and the like. Several 

 species arc ornamental. 



Three genera are in the American trade: Comiostylis 

 or CaljTitrion, a species of greenhouse woody climbers; 

 Hybanthus or Solea, of the garden; and Viola (Common 

 Pan.sy, Homed Pansy, Sweet English Violets, Wild 

 Violet.'- J. 



].50. Flacourtiaceae (from the genus Flaccrurlin, 

 namf<i in honor of E. de Flacourt, a governor of 

 Madaga.scar;. Flacoirtia Family. Trees or shrubs, 

 rarely climbing: leaves usually alternate and in 2 ranks: 

 flowers hi.S(;xual, rarely unisexual, regular; sepals 2-6, 

 commonly 4-5, imbricated, rarely otherwise; petals 

 0, or equal to the sepals, or many, imbricated or con- 

 volute; stamens numerous, hypogynous or perigynous; 

 receptacle enlargcfl and variously modified, often sur- 

 moimtefl by a diversely formed disk; ovary superior 

 or nearly so, 1-celled; placenta parietal; ovules numer- 

 ou.s; Btyles and stigmas 1 to several: fruit dry or fleshy, 

 dehiscent or indehiscent. 



There are 70 genera and more than 500 species of 

 tropical distribution. The family is related to the 

 Violacea?, Passifloracea', and other families with similar 

 parietal placentatjon, but is most, closely related to the 

 Bixaceic with which it has often Ijecn united, and from 

 which it dilTers mainly in the absence of slime-cells. 

 In general, the pecuUar ovary, the numerous stamens, 

 the regular flower, and the enlarged receptacle are 

 characl eristic. 



The .sour fruit t)f .several species is eaten, or preserved, 

 in the tropics. The seeds of Paiigium. edule are roasted 

 and used for baking. The leaves of Cascaria esculenla 

 are eaten in India. The wood is httle used. The bark 

 of Neuiiiaiiida Iheifurmis is used like ipecac in Madagas- 

 car. Chuiilmugra oil is obtained probably from Gyno- 

 caniia odarata of farther India. A peculiar resin is 

 secvn-ed from species of La?tia of Cuba. Coccos oil, 

 used in perfumery, is obtained from the PoljTiesian 

 genus iMyroxylon. The fixed oil of species of Pangium 

 is used in cooking. 



Probably 5 or 6 genera are in cultivation in the 

 warmer parts of North America: Aberia (Kei Apple); 

 Azara; Carrieria; Flacourtia (Rambustan, Governor's 

 Plum); Idesia, hardy in Mass.; Oncoba; Xylosma. 



151. Stachyuraceae (from the genus <S/oc/!;/»r((.s, signi- 

 fying sj/ikr-lail, in reference to the form of inflorescence). 

 Stachydrus Family. Shrubs or small trees with alter- 

 nate leaves: flowers bisexual or polygamous, regular; 

 sepals 4, imbricated; petals 4, imbricated; stamens 8, 

 separate; carpels 4; ovary superior, 1-celled, or falsely 

 4-celled by the intrusion of the large parietal placentae; 

 style and stigma 1; ovules many: fruit berry-like, 

 pericarp leathery. 



Only one genus and 4 species occur in Japan, China, 

 and the Himalayas. The family is closely related to the 

 Temstrcemiacea? with which it was formerly united 

 and from which it differs in the fewer stamens, 1-celled 

 ovary and entire stigma. Fseful apparently only as 

 ornamental plants. 



Two species are occasionally cultivated in America. 



1.52. Passifloraceae (from the genus Passiflora; early 

 travelers thought they had found emblems of the cruci- 

 fixion in the flower, for a detailed account of which see 

 article on Passiflora). Passion-Flower Family'. Fig. 40. 

 Herbaceous or woody plants, usually climbing by 

 axillary tendrils: leaves alternate, simple or compound: 

 flowers bisexual, or unisexual, usually involucrate, 

 perigynous; calyx and corolla sometimes similar; sepals 

 4—5, imbricated, often petaloid; petals 4-5, rarely 0, 

 imbricated, often smaller than the sepals, sometimes 

 fringed; a crown (outgrowth of receptacle) of many 

 filaments between the petals and stamens, sometimes 

 tubular or scale-hke; stamens 4-5, usually opposite 

 the petals, inserted on the edge of the cup-shaped 

 receptacle, or at the base of the corona, or at the base of 

 the pistil at the summit of a long gynojjhore, separate 

 or connate; o^'ary superior, raised on a more or less 

 distinct stalk, (gynophore), 1-celled with 3-5 parietal 

 placentae; ovules numerous; styles 3-5: fruit a berry or 

 capsule. 



This family contains 18 genera and about 350 species, 

 inhabitants principaUy of the tropical regions, especially 

 of the New World. Two hundred and fifty species be- 

 long to the genus Passiflora, which extends as far north 

 as .southern Pennsylvania. The family is not closely 

 related to other families, but finds its nearest affinities 

 in the Loa.sacea>, Turneraceic and Begoniaceee. The 

 remarkable floral structure is distinctive. 



'Ihe pulpy aril of the seeds of Passiflora is used 

 in tropical America in the preparation of cooling 

 drinks. The flowers and fruit of P. rulira are narcotic. 

 The roots of P. fjiUKlranf/ularis are ^'ery poisonous and 

 sometimes used in small doses as a vermifuge. Many 

 Passifloras are cultivated in the tropics as fruit plants. 



Many are in cultivation in America, namely Passi- 

 flora and Tacsonia ((Jranadilla, .Jamaica Honeysuckle, 



