XXI. BIXINE^. 



TRIBE IV. PANGIEM. 



Flowers dioecious. Petals with a scale at the base. 



* Kiggelaria. 



PRINCIPAL GENERA 



l';m-imu. llyduocarpus. 



Gynocardia. 



i/n eiliilt. Srotl, eiitiru Hinl cut vertically (tnng.). 



Tlie normal lil.nncfc are 

 allied to Cidinea; by aestiva- 

 tion, insertion of the petals, 

 polyandry, one-celled ovary, 

 and parietal placentation ; but 

 Cixtinerf differ in their shorter 

 nnd orthotropons or sub- 

 orthotropous embryo, and 

 their usually floury albumen. 

 liirineee bear some relation 

 to Cappariderc, but are sepa- 

 rated by their albuminous 



seeds. They differ from Tiliacca- in the one-celled ovary a*d pfaceirlatibn. The oligandrous BiciiH'G 

 approach Viularicrr, which are separated by their irregular corolla and connivent anthers. They also 

 approach I'lijtaynwa', through the tribe of Pangifff. Jii.tinc(P inhabit the tropical regions of both worlds. 

 The most important of the tribe Si,ru;(C is the. \rnotto (Him OrcUana), a tropicnl American tree, 

 cultivated throughout the tropics ; the reddish pulp of its seeds smells of violets, and is bitter and astrin- 

 gent. A refreshing decoction is prepared from it, which is considered antifebrile, and is also used in cases 

 of hemorrhage, diarrhoea and gravel. The aromatic bitter see'd-s and root are reputed stomachic. The 

 seeds, steeped in hot water and allowed to ferment, furnish a red dye, which by evaporation becomes a 

 solid paste, the arnotto of commerce, used largely by painters, and especially dyers, as also to colour butter 

 and wax ; the Caribbeans formerly tattooed themselves with it to prevent mosquito bites. The soft wood 

 of Him serves as tinder to Indians, who obtain fire by rubbing together two pieces of wood of different 

 species. CocUotpermum tnaigne, which grows in Brazil, is supposed to cure abscesses in the viscera. The 

 root of C. tinctorium, which contains a yellow dye, is useful in amenorrhcea. The gum of the East Indian 

 C. Gossypium, called Cuteera, is used as a substitute for tragacanth. The fruit of Oncoba, which 

 inhabits tropical Africa from Nubia to the Cape de Verd, yields a sweet and eatable pulp. L(cti obtain, 

 from tropical America, secretes a balsamic resin similar to sandarac. The more or less acid juicy berries 

 of Flacourtia cataphracta, sepiaria, snjmla and im-nm's, Asiatic species, and of F. Ramantchi, are eatable. 

 The bitter shoots of F. cataphracta taste like rhubarb, and are used as a tonic. The Cingalese use the 

 fruits of HtjfJnocarjms invhrians to intoxicate fish. 





