COKOLLIFLOB^. 297 



Tribe 4. HHODORE^. Corolla deciduous. Fruit capsular, sepiicidal. Buds 

 scaly, cone-like. Azalea, L. ; Rhododendron, L. ; Ledum, L. 



Suborder III. PYBOLEJS. Chimaphila, Pursh ; Pyrola, Tourncf. 



Suborder IV. MONOTBOPEJE. Monotropa, Nutt. ; Schweinitzia, Ell. j 

 Pterospora, Nutt. 



Affinities, &c. The general floral formula is S5 P5 A 5 + 5 G5, but in 



Vocciniefe it is | S~5 P~5 A 5+6 G 5. The Suborders are connected by the 

 general plan of structure; but the details are subject to wide variation, 

 not only including sympetalous and dialypetalous conditions, but even 

 hypogynous and epigynous. By many authors these subdivisions are 

 ranked as distinct Orders. The Vacciniece, with their inferior ovary, 

 stand, if separated, among the epigynous Orders, near Campanulaceae or 

 Cinchonaceas ; consequently they form a connecting link between the 

 Oalyciflorals and Corollifiorals, indicating the artificiality of this division; 

 they even appear related to the perigynous Calyciflorals by Escallonieee 

 in Saxifragacese. The JEricinece differ from the Vacciniece principally in 

 the superior ovary and hypogynous corolla ; and the stamens are here 

 nearly if not quite hypogyuous, which, with the many-celled ovary, 

 divid'es them from Gentianacese and allied Orders. The Ericineas are 

 nearly allied to the Epacridacese ; but the latter have 1 -celled anthers. 

 The Pyrolece have the sepals and petals more or less distinct, are more 

 herbaceous in habit than the foregoing, and their seeds are remarkably 

 different ; P. aphylla, a plant devoid of green colour, and with leaf-scales 

 in place of leaves, connects this Suborder with Monotropece, which, how- 

 ever, differ in the dehiscence of the anthers, and in having the minute 

 embryo at the apex instead of at the base of the fleshy perisperm. Some 

 doubt exists whether the last Suborder are really parasitical plants : they 

 grow among the fibrils of the roots of trees, and have all the appearance 

 of parasites, but may live on decaying vegetable matter. In habit they 

 resemble Orobanchaceae ; but this is not a sign of affinity. 



Distribution. A large Order, the members of which are generally diffused 

 in temperate climates over heathy and boggy tracts, in subalpine and 

 alpine localities, all over the world the Rhododendra especially in India, 

 the Befarice in South America, and the Heaths at the Cape. 



Qualities and Uses. The general character is astringency. The fruits of 

 various Vacciniece and Ericece are edible as those ofOxucoccuspalustris&nd. 

 O. macrocarpa (the European and North- American Cranberries), Vacci- 

 nium Myrtittus (the Bilberry), V. Vitis-Idaa (the Red Whortleberry), and 

 V.uliginosum (the Black Whortleberry \Gaultheria procumbens,G. hispida 

 (Tasmania) , &c. But others are dangerous or even narcotic poisons ; and 

 this extends to the foliage of such kinds, especially species of Rhodo- 

 dendron, Azalea, Andromeda, Kalmia, &c. Uva-Ursi leaves (Arctostaphy- 

 los Uva- Ursi) are mixed with Tobacco by the North- American Indians, 

 and are esteemed as astringents ; those of some Pyrolece, as Cliirnaphila 

 umbellata, American Wintergreen, are used as diuretics. Oil of Winter- 

 green, known as an antispasmodic agent, and used in perfumery, is 

 obtained from the fruit of Gaidtheria procumbens. A vast number of 

 species of Erica, Rhododendron, Azalea, &c. ; with numerous varieties and 



