276 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



API 



now only used in veterinary practice. 

 Among poisons, Hemlock (Conium macu- 

 latum) holds the first place. Anthriscus 

 vulgaris and A. sylvestris are not so dan- 

 gerous. Mhusa Cynapium, (Enanthe cro- 

 cata, CE. PMlandrium, Cicuta maculata, 

 and C. virosa are other fatal speciea 



Apical \i or relating to the apex. 



Apicutate. Terminating abruptly in a little 

 point. See Apiculus. 



Apiculatum.The flowers resembling a bee. 



Apiculus. A small point. This term is 

 generally used when the midrib projects 

 beyond the leaf, forming a little point, or 

 when a small point is very suddenly and 

 abruptly formed. 



Apifera. Like a bee. 



Apocarpus. Having their carpels, or at least 

 their styles, disunited. 



Apocynacece, (Contortce, Vincece, Apocynece, 

 Dogbanes.) A natural order of corolli- 

 floral Exogens, with a superior ovary, 

 free epipetalous stamens, a pulley-shaped 

 (trochlear) stigma, and unequal-sided 

 lobes of the corolla, on which last account 

 Linnseus called them contorted or twist- 

 ed-flowered plants, the corolla having 

 some resemblance to a Catharine-wheel 

 firework in motion. Most of the species 

 inhabit tropical countries ; the northern 

 forms are the Vinca or Periwinkle, Nerium 

 or Oleander, and a few more. In general 

 the species form a poisonous, acrid, milky 

 secretion, which renders them dangerous; 

 but others are mild enough in their ac- 

 tion to be useful in medicine, and in a 

 few cases the milk is bland enough to 

 form a palatable beverage. Some yield 

 the gum-elastic Caoutchouc, (see Vahea ;) 

 while some Hancornias and Carissas pro- 

 duce an eatable, and, as travelers say, a 

 pleasant fruit. See Tanghinia, Tabernce- 

 montana, Hancornia, etc. The commoner 



APO 



forms in cultivation are those of Attaman- 

 da, Parsonsia, Vinca, and Taberncemontana. 

 About 600 species are known, distrib- 

 uted through about 100 genera. 



Apophysis. A name given to a swelling, 

 often hollow, or of extremely loose tex- 

 ture, at the base of the capsules in several 

 Mosses. It is developed extremely in the 

 natural order Splachnei, where it often ex- 

 ceeds in size the true capsule. It attains 

 its maximum in Splachnum lateum and S. 

 rubrum, where it is a most conspicuous 

 object, hanging down like an umbrella or 

 the vesicle of Ascophora. In CEdipodium 

 almost the whole of the stem consists of 

 apophysis, which is confluent at once 

 with it and the capsule. - 



Apostasiacece. This is a very small group, 

 bordering on the limits of the vast Orchi- 

 daceous order, from which it differs 

 mainly in its stamens not being gynan- 

 drous, but distinct from each other and 

 from the style. It stands near the genus 

 Cypripedium, some of the reputed species 

 of which, now called Selenipedium, have 

 a three-celled ovary. The flowers of all 

 the known species are small and incon- 

 spicuous, while the leaves are strongly 

 marked by stout parallel, larger veins, 

 as in Curculigo, or any similar plant. 



Apostaxis. Unusual discharge of the juices 

 of plants. This may arise merely from 

 an extreme abundance of fluid, which is 

 in consequence discharged, as in Indian 

 Shot and the Vine, from the point or ser- 

 rated top of the leaves. If, however, it is 

 elaborated sap which flows out, either 

 from injury or weakness of the tissues, 

 the effect may be injurious. And this is 

 exactly the case on what is called gum- 

 ming ; a condition which may be induced 

 artificially by allowing water to drop con- 

 stantly over a branch- This always pro- 



