298 



MONIMIACE^E. 



[Diclinous Exchjens. 



Order XCIX. MONIMIACEiE.— Monimiads. 



Monimieje, Juss. in Ann. Mm. 14. 130. (1809) ; Bartl. Ord. Nat. 103. ; Endl. Gen. cv. 



Diagnosis. — Mcnispcrmal Exogcns, with perigynous stamens, pendulous seeds, and a 

 minute embryo on the outside of copious fleshy albumen. 



Aromatic trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite, without stipules. Flowers axillary, 

 $ $ . Calyx somewhat globose, divided at the border, sometimes into more rows than 

 one, in which case the segments of the 

 latter are petaloid and imbricated. $ Sta- 

 mens indefinite, covering all the inside 

 of the tube of the calyx ; filaments often 

 with a pair of scales at the base ; anthers 

 2-celled,burstinglongitudinally. $ Ovaries 

 several, superior, 1 -celled, distinct, in- 

 closed within the tube of the calyx, 

 each with its own style and stigma ; ovule 

 solitary, anatropal, pendulous. Fruit con- 

 sisting of several 1-seeded nuts, inclosed 

 within the enlarged calyx. Seed pendu- 

 lous ; embryo [small, at the end of an 

 abundant fleshy albumen, to which it is 

 wholly external, its thin diverging coty- 

 ledons being applied to the surface of the 

 albumen ; testa very fleshy ; radicle supe- 

 rior in Ruizia fragrans or Boldoa]. 



The plants which constitute this Natural 

 Order have been stationed by different 

 Botanists in various parts of their Natural 

 arrangements. Being shrubs with apeta- 

 lous flowers and an aromatic quality, they 

 have been placed near Laurels (Lau- 

 racece), with which they also correspond 

 in their ovaries containing but one ovule. 

 Their flowers being apetalous and the sexes 

 disunited, others have referred them to the vicinity of Nettleworts (Urticacere), with 

 which, moreover, some species of Citrosma correspond in habit. The true station, 

 however, is evidently among unisexual Orders, with a very large quantity of albumen, 

 where they may be very naturally associated with Nutmegs and their allies. In fact, 

 Mr. Gardner's Tetratome elliptica has so much the appearance of a Nutmeg, that it 

 has been laid into herbaria as such. The extremely aromatic quality of these Monimiads 

 is a strong confirmation of the propriety of this view. Their numerous carpels bring 

 them also into contact with Kadsurads, another aromatic Order. The structure of the 

 calyx of Boldoa, the gradual transition of its segments into petaloid leaves, and the 

 disunited carpels, indicate some analogy to Calycanths, but the minute embryo and 

 disunited sexes forbid us to regard the connection between these plants and Monimiads 

 as being of an ultimate kind. 



Brown says (Flinders, 5,53.) that what is here called, with Jussieu, a calyx, is more 

 properly an involucre ; a view that I formerly adopted, not having had the opportunity 

 of examining specimens for myself. Now, however, that good materials have been 

 acquired by me, I no longer concur with him in that opinion. 



In most books the embryo is said to be in the axis of fleshy albumen. How far this 

 may be true in other genera 1 am unable to ascertain, but it is certainly not so in 

 Boldoa fragrans ; which, as was partly stated long ago by Correa de Serra, has the very 

 curious structure above described. Is it possible that the thick fleshy radicle has been 

 taken for an embryo, and that the thin diverging cotyledons have been overlooked ? 



Fig. CCV. — Boldop fragrans. 1. a section of the ripe fruit ; 2. the embryo shown separately. 



Fig. CCV. 



