ORDER CAPRIFOLIACE^E, OR HONEYSUCKLE TRIBE. 453 



growing on the latter tree, it was held in superstitious venera- 

 tion by the Druids of old. The Loranthus, on the other hand, 

 infests a great variety of trees, each of these having, for the most 

 part, a particular species which grows on it alone. Above 250 

 species of it are known ; and these are mostly found in the 

 tropical parts of America and India. In Africa, and in the 

 South Seas, they appear to be very rare. 



623. The next order, CAPRIFOLIACE.E, or Honeysuckle tribe, 

 bears a nearer relationship to the foregoing, than might have 

 been suspected. The flower chiefly differs from that of Loran- 

 thacese in the stamens being alternate with the petals, instead of 

 opposite to them ; and the ovarium frequently (but not always) 

 contains more than one cell. The order differs, also, in the 

 absence of parasitic habits. To this group belong not only the 

 Honeysuckle but also the Elder, and, in the opinion of some 

 Botanists, the Ivy ; as also the Guelder- Rose and Laurestinus, 

 the latter of which is a beautiful garden shrub, bearing leaves 

 and flowers all through the winter. All these plants are natives 

 of the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America ; they are 

 less abundant as we approach the tropics, and are almost un- 

 known in the southern hemisphere. The flowers and leaves of 

 most of this order are strongly odoriferous ; the former are gene- 

 rally very fragrant ; but the latter are frequently (as in the 

 common Elder) foetid, and possessed of acrid properties. The 

 bark is generally astringent ; that of some species has been used 

 for tanning ; and that of others has been employed in medicine 

 for the same purposes, and with similar effects, as Peruvian 

 Bark. The berries of the Elder and of other species contain a 

 good deal of sweet juice, which may be fermented into a kind of 

 wine. Those of an American species, when dried and roasted, 

 furnish the best of all substitutes for Coffee, which is afforded 

 by a plant belonging to the succeeding order. Another species, 

 known as the Snow-berry, is cultivated in gardens on account of 

 the delicate white colour of its fruit. 



624. The next order, RUBIACE^E, or Madder tribe, is a very 

 extensive one, but is almost entirely confined to tropical countries. 

 It comprehends the meanest weeds and the noblest flowering 



