230 



SYSTEMATIC BOTATT5T. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GENERA. 



Suborder 1. SAPINDEJE. Leaves 

 usually alternate ; flowers usually ir- 

 regular ; ovules mostly solitary ; em- 

 bryo curved or sometimes straight. 



Cardiospermum, L. 



Paullinia, L. 



Sapindus, L. 



Cupania, L. 



Suborder 2. HIPPOCASTANEJE. 

 Leaves opposite, digitate ; ovules 2 in 

 a cell, one ascending, the other sus- 

 pended; embryo curved, with large 

 consolidated cotyledons. 



^Esculus, L. 

 Pa via, Boerh. 



Suborder 3. DODONEJE. Leaves 

 alternate ; flowers regular ; ovules 2 

 or 3 in a cell ; embryo spiral. 



Kcelreuteria, Lam. 



Ophiocaryon, Schomb. 



Suborder 4. MELIOSME^. Leaves 

 alternate; flowers very irregular, sta- 

 mens 5, only 2 fertile ; ovules 2 in 

 each cell, both suspended; embryo 

 folded up ; fruit a drupe. 

 Meliosma, Endl. 



Affinities, &c. Some authors separate the Hippocastanece and make them 

 a distinct Order, on account of the opposite leaves and the two ovules ; 

 and the Meliosmece (which are referred to Sabiacese by Bentham and 

 Hooker) on account of the irregular flowers and drupaceous fruits ; but 

 these distinctions are esteemed insufficient. These plants are nearly re- 

 lated to Aceracese, especially by the samaroid fruits common here : the 

 main distinctions are variable ; for the two carpels, the opposite leaves, 

 and the absence of scales on the petals and of an aril may be noted in 

 Sapindaceee : from Malpighiaceae, which have samaroid fruit, they are 

 distinguished by their unsymmetrical flowers. The peculiar convolution 

 of the embryo is a very marked character in many of the Sapindacese, and 

 is very curious in OjpAiocary0*,tke Snake-nut. The wood of the stems of 

 some genera, such as Sapindus, Paullinia, &c., presents anomalous con- 

 ditions from the distribution of the nbro-vascular structures into several 

 groups, so that the trunks have a number of woody axes besides that 

 surrounding the pith, all enclosed in a common bark. 



Distribution. The members of this large group are natives of the 

 tropics, especially of South America and India ; some occur in North 

 America and other temperate regions j the Horse-chestnut is only 

 naturalized in Europe. 



Qualities and Uses. The properties of this Order are very various. 

 They take their name from the saponaceous principle contained in the 

 fruits of species of Sapindus, S. Saponaria &c., which makes a lather 

 with water ; hence the fruits are used for washing both in the East and 

 West Indies ; the Horse-chestnut, JEsculus Hippocastanum, possesses it 

 to a certain extent. The fruits of Sapindus are acrid ; and the juice of the 

 leaves and bark of some species is poisonous, as are the seeds of S. sene- 

 galensis. The fruit and leaves of the American Horse-chestnut or Buck- 

 eye, JEsculus ohioensis, are said to be actively poisonous, while the seeds 

 of JE. Hippocastanum are given to sheep in Switzerland. The Paullinias 

 are very poisonous, from an acrid narcotic principle : yet P. sorbilis fur- 

 nishes in its fruits an article of food for the Brazilian aborigines, called 

 Guarana bread. Guaranine, an alkaloid extracted from various species of 

 Paullinia, has properties like those of Theine. Other plants produce deli- 



