CLASSIFICATION OF ARCHICHLAMYDEAE 245 



large families being Caryophyllaceae with 1,420 species, Aizoa- 

 ceae with 575, and Chenopodiaceae and Amarantaceae each 

 with about 435. In this alliance the floral characters range 

 from the bracteate undifferentiated perianth of Chenopodiaceae 

 to the distinct calyx and corolla of many Caryophyllaceae. In 

 the alliance as a whole calyx and corolla are frequently rather 

 than prevailingly distinct, and only the highest family has at- 

 tained the conspicuous corolla associated with entomophily. A 

 feature of the alliance is the conspicuous perisperm. 



The Polygonales and Centrospermales may possibly have a 

 closely related origin, but it does not seem probable that they 

 are related in any way to the following alliance, but that they 

 represent a general line of development whose highest expres- 

 sion is among the Caryophyllaceae. 



XV. Raxales. — This includes Xymphaeaceae, Ceratophyl- 

 laceae, Trochodendraceae, Ranunculaceae, Lardizabalaceae, Ber- 

 beridaceae, Menispermaceae,Magnoliaceae, Calycanthaeeae, Lac- 

 toridaceae, Anonaceae, Myristicaceae, Gomortegaceae, Monimia- 

 ceae, Lauraceae, and Hernandiaceae, together containing about 

 4,050 species, the large families being Lauraceae with 1,015 

 species, Ranunculaceae with 990, Menisperrnaceae with 390, 

 Anonaceae with 345, Monimiaceae with 245, Alyristicaceae with 

 235, and Berberidaceae with 135. 



This great alliance introduces the prevailing habit of a dis- 

 tinct calyx and corolla, and is characterized by the prevalence 

 of apocarpy and hypogyny. The primitive character of the 

 flower is indicated not only by apocarpy and hypogyny, but also 

 by the strong tendency to the indefinite repetition and spiral 

 arrangement of the floral members. Were it not for the preva- 

 lence of a distinct calyx and corolla the alliance would not hold 

 so high a rank. At least three prominent developmental lines 

 are evident, viz., Xymphaeaceae to Ceratophyllaceae, Ranun- 

 culaceae to ^Menispormaceae, and Magnoliaceae to Hernandia- 

 ceae. In each of these lines there is an advance from the 

 spiral to the cyclic arrangement, and in the last line epigyny 

 is reached. As is also known, zvgomorphy occasionally occurs, 

 being present in no preceding alliance except the Aristolochiales. 



It seems probable that the higher alliances of the Archichla- 

 nivdeae are related in some way to the Ranalcs, whose numerous 

 lines of development seem to have been taken up by other 



