224 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



Distribution. An Order the species of which are mostly tropical and 

 subtropical. 



Qualities and Uses. Mucilaginous. Sterculia Tragacantha yields the 

 gum Tragacanth of Sierra Leone, S. urens a similar gum ; the seeds of 

 all the species are oily, like those of Malvaceae ; the same properties are 

 generally diffused. Sterculia outtata and villosa and species of other genera 

 yield fibres fit for cordage and woven fabrics. Cola acuminata furnishes 

 the Cola nuts, greatly esteemed by the negroes for their bitter restorative 

 properties. Cheirostemon platanoides, the Hand-plant of Mexico, has a re- 

 markable-looking flower : the tube of the monadelphous stamens is split 

 above and spread out, so that the anthers resemble five fingers or claws, 

 while the curved style looks like a thumb. This and various other plants 

 of the Order have been introduced as stove-shrubs. The seeds of Theo- 

 broma cacao and other species furnish the Cocoa of commerce. 



TILIACE^E. THE LIME OE LINDEN OEDEE. 



Coh. Malvales, JBenth. et Hook. 



Diagnosis. Trees (rarely herbs) with alternate usually stipulate 

 leaves ; flowers regular, hermaphrodite or unisexual ; calyx valvate ; 

 petals imbricated in aestivation ; sepals deciduous ; stamens nume- 

 rous, free, or polyadelphous ; anthers 2-celled ; ovary free, 2-oo - 

 celled ; embryo curved ; cotyledons leafy. Illustrative Grenera : 

 Luhea, Willd. ; Corchorus, L. ; Triumfetta, Plum. ; Tilia, L. ; 

 Grewia, Juss. ; Elceocarpus, L. 



Affinities, &c. The distinct or polyadelphous stamens, the 2-celled an- 

 thers, and the disk separate these plants from their near allies, the Mal- 

 vaceae and Sterculiacege. From Camelliaceae they differ in the aestivation 

 of the calyx, and from Bixaceaa in the structure of the fruit. Various 

 remarkable peculiarities of structure occur in the genera. Some species 

 of Apeiba are said to have 24 cells in the fruit ; Diplophractum has parie- 

 tal placentas with spurious dissepiments in the fruit. The polyadelphous 

 stamens of Luhea, and of the American species of Tilia, which stand in 

 bundles before the petals, are supposed to be instances of chorisis ; 

 but the petal in these cases is probably an outgrowth from the stamina! 

 tubercle. Limes are peculiar in the adhesion of the flower-stalk to the 

 bract. Grewia has glandular petals ; Elceocarpus has them fringed ; in 

 some species they are absent. 



Distribution. There are between three and four hundred species, per- 

 taining to thirty-five or forty genera. The Limes or Lindens (Tilia} are 

 trees of the northern parts of both hemispheres ; but the rest of the Order 

 are chiefly tropical. Triumfettas are tropical weeds with bur-like fruits. 



Qualities and Uses. The general properties are the same as those of 

 the allied Orders mucilaginous juices and fibrous bark. Many are valu- 

 able timber-trees, and some yield edible fruits. The fibrous liber of the 

 European Tilice furnishes the well-known Russian " bast " or " bass ;" 

 various species of Corchorus furnish fibres in India, especially C. capsularis, 

 which affords "Jute/' a fibre very extensively substituted for hemp; 

 C. olitorius is used as a pot-herb. The berries of Grewia sapida, asiatica, 

 and others are pleasantly acid, and are used in making sherbet ; and the 



