318 



LIT. AURANTIACE.E. 



e, and Simartibea (see these families). Bentham and 1 looker fil. have united with trtieni 

 Aurantieee and Zantko.rylea> (see these families). Jtiifdcete all belong to the Old World ; they especially 

 abound in the north temperate hemisphere, the shores of the Mediterranean, and South Siberia ; and they 

 become very rare towards the poles and equator. Baattnwghausenia inhabits the Himalayas and Japan. 



Itvtacete owe their stimulating properties to a bitter substance, a resinous acrid principle, and 

 especially to a volatile oil, secreted by the glands of the leaves and flowers. The Rue (Ruta yraveolens), 

 a native of the Mediterranean region, and cultivated in all gardens, is remarkable for its strong smell and 

 acrid taste, and its essence, obtained by distillation, is employed as a sudorific, vermifuge, and emmen- 

 agogue. Vinegar of Rue was regarded during many centuries as a certain remedy against the plague. 

 The Romans used Rue as a condiment, as do the Germans still. Jtuta montana, which grows in Spain, 

 is so extremely acrid that it produces erysipelas and ulcerous pustules on the skin of those who gather it. 

 Haplophyttum tulerculatum is so much less acrid that the Egyptian women bruise its leaves in water, 

 and use it as a hair-wash. The peduncles and flowers of the European Dittany (Dic-tamnna albus) are 

 laden with pedicelled glands whicli secrete an abundant volatile oil so copiously that the plant 

 ignites at the approach of a candle; its resinous scented and bitter root is tonic and stimulating. Per/anum 

 JIarmala grows in sandy soil ia the Mediterranean region ; its smell is repulsive and its taste acrid and 

 bitter ; the Turks use its seeds as a condiment, and obtain a red dye from them. 



LII. AURANTTACE^E. 



(AURANTIORUM scctio, Jussieu. HESPERIDEAEUM sectio, Ventenat. AURANTIACE^E, 



Correct.} 



Grange. Vertical section of flower (mag.). 



Orange (Citrus Aurantium). 



Orange. Orange. 



Fart of aiidroDcium (mag.). Calyx and ovary (mag.). 



