648 



HISIORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



four, five, or six deep divisions, furnished inter- 

 nally with scaly and glandulai- appendages. The 

 corolla is wanting in most genera, or is com- 

 posed of petals sometimes distinct, sometimes 

 united into a monopetalous corolla. It appears 

 to be formed of abortive and sterile stamina. 

 In the male flowers, there is a considerable num- 

 ber of stamina. More rarely the number is 

 limited, or each stamen may be considered as a 

 flower (as is admitted to be the case in the genus 

 euphorbia). The stamina are free or monadel- 

 jdious. The female flowers are composed of a 

 free, sessile, or stipitate ovary, sometimes accom- 

 panied by a hypogynous disk. The ovary has 

 usually three cells, each containing one or two 

 suspended ovules. From the summit of the 

 ovary arise three stigmas, which are generally 

 sessile and elongated. The fruit is dry or slightly 

 fleshy, and is composed of as many cocca, con- 

 taining one or two seeds, as the fruit has cells. 

 The cocca, which are internally bony, open 

 elastically at their inner angle into two valves. 

 They rest by their inner angle upon a central 

 columella, which often continues after their dis- 

 persion. The seeds, which are externally crus- 

 taceous, and present a small fleshy caruncle, in 

 the vicinity of their point of attachment, have 

 a fleshy endospei-m, in which is contained an 

 axile and homotrope embryo. 



Among the genera are the following: euplior- 

 hia, mercurialis, ricintis, croton, jatropha, hura, 

 huxus, and acalt/pha. 



All the plants of this family contain a milky 

 juice which is acrid or poisonous. They abound 

 in caoutchouc. Castor oil is obtained from the 

 seeds of ricinus communis. The roots of several 

 species are emetic, of others purgative. Croton 

 tiglium affords an oil, which is a drastic purga- 

 tive. In general, the family is characterised by 

 acrid, narcotic, and poisonous qualities, residing 

 in a volatile principle, which may be dissipated 

 by heat. 



Urtice*, Kunth. (Urticeae, Jussieu; and 

 celtiden'. Rich). This family consists of her- 

 baceous plants, shrubs, or large trees, sometimes 

 lactescent, with alternate leaves, generally fur- 

 nished with stipules. Flowers unisexual, very 

 rarely hei-maphrodite, solitary, or variously 

 grouped, and forming catkins, or collected in a 

 fleshy involucre, which is flat, spreading, or 

 pyriform and closed. In the male flowers there 

 are a calyx formed of four or five sepals, which 

 are distinct or united, and forming a tube, and 

 four or five stamina, which are alternate, or very 

 rarely opposite to the sepals. The female flowers 

 have a calyx formed of from two to four sepals, 

 or merely a scale, in the axilla of which they 

 are placed. The ovary is free, with a single cell, 

 containing a single pendent ovule, and sur- 

 mounted, either by two long sessile stigmas, or 

 by a single stigma, sometimes supported upon 



a style of variable length. The frait is alwaj-s 

 composed of a crustaceous akenium, enveloped 

 by the calyx, which sometimes becomes fleshy : 

 at other times the involucre, which contains the 

 female flowers, enlarges, as is remarked in the 

 genera ficus, dorstenia, &c. The seed, besides 

 its proper integument, is composed of a gener- 

 ally curved embryo, often contained within a 

 more or less thin endosperm. 



The family may be divided into three tribes : 



1. Celtide/E: flowers hermaphrodite; embryo 

 without endosperm, as ulimis, celtis. 



2. Urtice/e : flowers unisexual; fruits distinct ; 

 embryo enclosed in a thin endosperm, as urtica, 

 parietaria, Imimilus, cannabis, tnorus. 



3. Artocarpe/E: flowers unisexual; fruits 

 collected in a flat or pyriform fleshy involucre; 

 embryo furnished with an endosperm, as dor- 

 stenia, fictis, &c. 



The bark of the elms is bitter and astringent. 

 The uses of hemp are well known. Its leaves 

 are narcotic. The urticea: or nettles, are remaik- 

 able for their stinging propensities. The com- 

 mon hop contains a bitter and narcotic principle, 

 which is used in the manufacture of ale and 

 porter. The artocarpcae are extremely hetero- 

 genous as to their properties, the bread-fruit, the 

 mulberry, and the fig, being the pi-oducts of 

 certain species, while others yield the most 

 deadly poisons. Caoutchouc is also yielded by 

 several species of this family. 



MoNiMi^, Jussieu. (Atlierospermere, Brown) 

 Composed of trees or shrubs, natives of Amer- 

 ica and New Holland, with opposite leaves, des- 

 titute of stipules and unisexual flowers. The 

 flowers present a globular or calyciform involu- 

 cre, the divisions of which are disposed in two 

 series. In the fonuer case, the involucre has 

 only some small teeth at its summit; and, in the 

 male flowers, bursts and opens into four deep 

 and pretty regular lobes, the whole upper sur- 

 face of which is covered with stamina, having 

 short filaments, and each forming a male flower. 

 In the second case (ruiziaj, the stamina line 

 only the lower and tubular part of the involucre; 

 the filaments are longer; and, towards their 

 lower part, bear on each side a pedicellate tu- 

 bercle, similar to that which is observed in the 

 same place in the Laurinese. The female flowers 

 are composed of an involucre precisely similar 

 to that of the male flowers. In the genera 

 monimia, and rtiizia, there are at the bottom of 

 this involucre, eight or ten erect pistils, perfectly 

 distinct from each other, and intennixed witli 

 hairs. In amioro, these pistils are very numer- 

 ous, entirely immersed in the substance of the 

 walls of the involucre, the only part that is 

 free and visible being their summit, which is a 

 small conical mammilla, and forms the real 

 stigma. Each of these pistils is unilocular, and 

 contains a single ovule suspended from its sura- 



