460 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURAL ORDERS. 



four-cleft, or of four separate petals, valvate in aestivation, sometimes 

 none. Stamens mostly two, adnate to the base of the corolla. 

 Ovary free, two-celled, with two pendulous ovules in each cell. 

 Fruit by suppression usually one-celled and one- or two-seeded. 

 Seed albuminous. Embryo straight. — Ex. Olea (the Olive), and 

 Chionanthus (Fringe-tree), where the fruit is a drupe. Syringa, the 

 Lilac, which has a capsular fruit. Fraxinus, the Ash ; where the 

 fruit is a samara, the flowers are polygamous, and mostly destitute 

 of petals. Olive oil is expressed from the esculent drupes of Olea 

 Europaia. The bark, like that of the Ash, is bitter, astringent, and 

 febrifugal. Manna exudes from the trunk of Fraxinus Ornus of 

 Southern Europe, &c. — Forestiera appears to represent another 

 entirely apetalous form of this family. 



Division III. — Apetalous Exogenous Plants. 



Corolla none ; the floral envelopes consisting of a single series 

 (calyx), or sometimes entirely wanting. — Many of them are apeta- 

 lous allies of polypetalous families ; as Phytolaccaceae, &c. related to 

 Caryophyllaceaj ; Empetraceae to Ericaceae, &c. 



Conspectus of the Orders. 



Group I. Flowers perfect, with a conspicuous or colored mostly adnate calyx. 

 Ovary several-celled and many-ovuled. Capsule or berry many-seeded. — 

 Herbs or climbing shiubs. Abistolociiiace^e. 



Gioup 2 Flowers perfect, or .rarely polygamous. Calyx corolline, strongly 

 gamoscpalous, much produced beyond the ovary, the expanded border entire 

 or moderately lobed ; the base persistent, and forming an indurated nut- 

 like closed covering to the onc-sccdcd achenium or utricle. Embryo large, 

 curved or conduplicatc, involving some albumen. — Leaves opposite : nodes 

 tumid. Flowers often large and showy. Nyctaginace^e. 



Group 3. Flowers perfect, or rarely polygamous, with a regular and often 

 pctaloid calyx. Ovary free. Ovules solitary in each ovary or.cell. Em- 

 bryo curved or coiled around (or sometimes in) mealy albumen, rarely in the 

 axis or cxalbuminous. 



Ovary several-celled, or ovaries several in a whorl. Phytolaccace.^ 



Ovary solitary and one-celled, with a single ovule. 



Stipules none. Ovule campylotropous or amphitropous. 



