320 STATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



the presence of an abortive ovule beside the sterile one; a clia- 

 racter almost constant, it is true, in Ca/^ca/if/ius, but not invariably 

 found in Ilortonia, and never observed in any of the other genera of 

 Ilorfoiiictp. 



3. Last of all come tliose characters which very frequently vary, 

 their absence and presence being about equally frequent; so that 

 none are sufficient to do more than distinguish different genera, or 

 dift'erent sections of a single genus. These are — the presence of 

 glandular dots, and the resulting aroma ; the conformation of the 

 hairs covering certain organs, especially the leaves ;' the dehiscence 

 of the anthers in straight or curved lines, or by valves ; their aspect ; 

 the presence or absence of glands at tlie base of the fihiments ; the 

 wa}' the Horal receptacle opens to free the pollen in the male ilowers 

 or the carpels in the fruit, whether by longitudinal clefts, by a trans- 

 verse circular solution of continuity, or by the simple dilatation 

 of its superior orifice ; the consistency of the different parts of 

 the fruit — the indusium and the true pericarps ;" and finally, the 

 absolute direction of the ovules and seeds, whether ascending or 

 descending/ 



From a histological point of view, the vegetative organs in this 

 order are always very uniform/ The stems and branches are cylin- 

 drical or slightly quadrangular. In the aromatic species the bark is 

 always the part that is richest in odoriferous matter, and is very 

 often the only portion that contains any. Usually, as in Pcumiis, 

 llorlu/tia, certain species of MoHuu'dln, and the At/tcruspermco', the 



' See p. 300, note 2. iind p. 322. with pendulous ovules, while the jtlunts of his 



- Following A. L. De JussiEU, TULASNE has Atherospermeee and Sipaninecr v,o\\\A have eret-t 



based two of his tribes on this character; Athe- ovules. But this last tribe is evidently hetero- 



roxptniiPfT {Aihtniophorea) with dry fruits, geneous, inchidiiig Siparuna, whose ovule is 



and Monimiacea- (JJrujjeicea) with the perlear|)3 ascending, and P(ilmrri<i,\n which it is doscend- 



jjartly flesliy. We hiivci-hown(ylf/rt/i*OH/rt, ix. 125) ing. We have wiid (.ttlansoiiin, ix. I'M) that 



that theru are numerous transitions between the Palmciia is hardly generic-ally dislinet fnnn 



drupes and the atliciu-s ; that the Calyranlhcm Munimia. I>K Maoi't & Df.CAIsnk ( r/viiVr «r'«. 



originally jHW-sess drupes with tliin pericarjjs, de Hut., 517) have asserted that the absolute 



that the fruits of Siparuna are, so to speak, half- direction of the ovule brings about a pc<-uliar in- 



drupes, and that certain AlheroxperMiecr Imvo sertion for the style. "Ovule ... sometimes 



rather caryojisids than aclieiu's. IJesides Tilasnk pendulous, and then style terniinal ; souutiujes 



has eleiirly |)ercciv(d (.I/oH., 425) tliat Uoilouia erect, and then style lateral or biuMlar." The 



affordsa transition between the true il/«(i/w/«c(fP facts arc contniry to tliis hiw ; out of three 



and the Athcronpernufp in the characters of its genera, with erect ovules, two have the style not 



fruits. lateral, hut tlumnigldy terminal, vi/., Siparuna 



'•' A. I)K Cam>()1.I.k ("//. rif., (MI) has ni.ed and Atherusperma (including Laurrlin). 

 this character to distinguiMi the live tribes he * Tl'L., Mon., 282, iv.— ()l,JV., (htf Shurl. of 



admits in this order. His TnmUouri»teir, Muni- the Stem in Dicot., 30. 

 mituv :iiid llftlifrari/irt- uould oidy inch.dc gcucni 



