Ml II8PI MULI 



Vlliaki b XXIII. MENISPERMALES Tni Mi 



I • I \ I . N ' P - . - / ' / 



I'll', Uliance Btands in the 8ame relation t.p others in the Dielinou 



to the Hy] ynous, or Rosals to the Perigynous Sub-cla I 'ombining chai 



resides in the disunited carpels, abundant albumen, and diclinous flowers. In the 

 Alliances just mentioned, the carpels are sometimes reduced to unity, and tl 



rircumstani ccurs in the present instance, where moi ' iiu ly 



simple in their carpellarj structure ; but as bucIi instanci a are regar 

 in [lanals and Rosals, being unaccompanied by other points ot differ) i niony 



Nutmegs the same conclusion must be adopted, the more especially e minia, 



which I regard as a genuine genus of the Order, p< carpels than 



habitual charai 



The relati f the < >rdi re now collected in the same Alliance will hardly be 



Their < mining characters are apparently solid, :u >< 1 their passage from one i" the 



other sufficiently well marked. Plume Nutmegs and Monimiads are by sonu Bol 



regarded as the same Order; Monimiads pass into true Nutmegs by means 



tome, and the remarkable peculiarity observable in th thin divergent cotj f the 



embryo i^ common t>p both < Orders. Nutmegs are brought into < tact with M 



ids by their trimerous flowers, and by the ruminated albumen of Am num ; 



Anally, the -tru-i relation < >i' Menispermads, Kadsurads, and Lardizabali 

 ible. 



In ii> external relations this Alliance is very remarkable. It- twii 

 habit and unisexual flowers bo nearly approach those of Cucurbits in somi i 

 that even bo acute a Botanist :.- l>r. Blume has referred the gi qus Gynostemma, a true 

 Cucurbit, to the Order of Menispermads. To the Ranal Alliance it pass i\ by 



in. ;nh p. I ' iIip genus rlyalostemma, which will be regarded as a Nutmeg 

 according to the different points of view in which the question of affiniti 

 1 ■ yen to Dictyogens it cannot but be regarded as a near approach, il w> 

 the trimerous Menispermads with Smilax, 



\ Ml HAL OUDl RS "I Ml MM I KM M S. 



I men cop . ndulous; 



S 



Albumen .1 , 



vol j 



. 

 Albumen copious, solid. & 

 I . v ./»/p.H.< ; 



S imens hypogynous i 



I . solid Spi/j amphitropa 



