676 



BIGNONIACE.E. 



[Perigynous Exogens. 



flower. I, however, stated long since (Bot. Reg. 939, Dec. 182.5,) that the placentation of 

 Eecremocarpus scaber and Bignonia radieans are originally of the same nature, the 

 difference between them consisting in the two placentae of the latter meeting in the 

 axis and uniting there, while in Eecremocarpus the two placentae never touch in the 

 middle, but exclusively adhere to the edges of the carpels. , 



Their wood is occasionally subdivided into 4 cruciform lobes. This is very conspi- 

 cuous in Bignonia capreolata, and seems to be general in the woody species. M. Gaudi- 

 chaud assures us that in Guayaquil these twiners have at first only 4 divisions of their 

 woody system, but afterwards acquire 8, then 16, and probably 32, the divisions regu- 

 larly following this mathematical progression. He also finds some indication of the ten- 

 dency in the old stems of Bignonia capreolata. See his Recherches Generates sur rOrga- 

 iiographic, <i-r. p. 129, and the figures accompanying the statement. 



The tropics of either hemisphere are the chief station of this noble-looking Order, 

 whose trumpet-shaped flowers are the glory of the places which the species inhabit. The 

 Order extends northwards in North America as far as Pennsylvania, and southwards into 

 the southern provinces of Chile. In Europe it is unknown in a wild state. 



The species are best known for the great beauty of the flowers, which from 

 their large size, gay colours, and great abundance, are often among the most striking 



Fig. CCCCLVIT. 



objects in a tropical forest. Chica (called also Carajuru) is a red feculent substance 

 obtained by boiling the leaves of Bignonia Chica in water ; the Chica is quickly precipi- 

 tated by adding some pieces of the bark of an unknown tree, called Arayana ; the 



Pig. CCCCLVII.— 1. capsule of Bignonia echinata (Pithecolobium AuMetii): 2. the same with 

 tin: valves removed and the placenta remaining covered with seeds. 



