80 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Campeclte), Hamatoxylon cawpechianwrrC a tree from equinoctial 

 America, which has been introduced into all warm countries. It 

 has glabrous branches with pinnate or bipinnate leaves, whose 

 stipules are caducous and membranous, or persistent and changed 

 into spines. The flowers form axillary racemes and articulate with 

 their common peduncle. 



Poinciancr (Flower-fence) has expanded flowers very near those of 

 certain Ccesalpinias, and nearly regular as in HaematoxyJon, with ten 

 long exserted stamens and the five petals subequal, or more rarely 



Hcematoxylon campechianum. 



Fig. 50. 

 Flower ({). 



Fig. 51. 

 Longitudinal section of flower. 



the axillary petal overlapped in the bud different from the rest. But 

 the calyx consists of five equal or subequal sepals, inserted on the rim 

 of a pretty deep receptacle, thickened or quite valvate at the edges. 

 The gynseceum, central or scarcely excentric, 3 becomes a bivalve many- 

 seeded pod with the pericarp thickened in the intervals between 

 the seeds. 4 Three species of this genus 5 are known, unarmed trees 

 from India, Madagascar, and the east coast of tropical Africa, with 

 bipinnate leaves and large flowers in terminal racemes. 



Colvilled' has the general characters of habit and the racemes 



1 L., Spec, 549.— Sloan., Hist., 2, t. 10, figs. 

 1-4. — BLACK'W.,iZer6.,t.463. — KAY'S. ,Arzneig., 

 ix. t. 44.— H. B. K., Nov. Gen. et Spec., vi. 325. 



2 L., Gen., n. 515 (part.).— DC, Prodr., ii. 

 483 (part.).— Endl., Gen., n. 6766 (part.).— 

 B. H., Gen., 569, n. 317 (nee T., Inst., 619, t. 

 391.— Ujei;tn-., Fruct., ii. 150, t. 150.— K., 

 Mimos., t. 44). 



3 The foot of the ovary is stumpy and 

 obliquely inserted, and usually compressed. 



The style and stamens are involute in the 

 bud. 



* These are supported on well-developed fu- 

 nicles, and possess copious very hard albumen ; 

 the embryo is often yellowish green. 



6 DC, he. tit., n. 3. — Hook., in Pot. Mag., 

 t. 2884.— Oliv., Fl. Prop. Afr., ii. 265. 



6 Boj., in Pot. Mag., t. 3325, 3326 j in Aim. 

 Sc. Nat., ser. 2, iv. 294.— Endl., Gen,, n. 6767. 

 — B. H., Gen., 569, n. 316.— Walp., Pep. v. 558. 



