128 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Apuleia prcecox. 



stigmatiferous apex ; the fruit is not well known. 1 This genus com- 

 prises two or three species 2 from tropical America, especially Brazil, 

 unarmed trees whose pinnately compound or decompound leaves have 

 coriaceous leaflets and small caducous stipules. The flowers form 

 branching and compound racemes or false corymbs. 



Jpuleia 3 has polygamous trimerous flowers. The receptacle forms 

 a little obconical pocket whose edges bear three sepals of which the 

 anterior overlaps the edges of the two others, and of these one over- 

 laps the other posteriorly (fig. 112): the petals are also three in number, 



perigynous, alternating with the sepals, and slightly 

 imbricated in the bud. The androceum consists of 

 three (more rarely two) alternipetalous stamens, 

 each of a free filament suddenly tapering towards 

 its apex, by which it is inserted near the base of an 

 erect introrse two-celled anther of longitudinal de- 

 hiscence. The central gynseceum consists of a 

 shortly stipitate ovary containing a few descending 

 ovules 4 and surmounted by a terminal style with a 

 slightly dilated stigmatiferous head. The fruit is 

 a flattened oval or oblong, thin coriaceous indehiscent one- or two- 

 seeded pod, whose dorsal edge is prolonged into a very narrow linear 

 wing. The seed, attached by a pretty long funicle, contains a 

 greenish embryo surrounded by a translucent albumen. Apuleia 

 consists of two or three species of unarmed trees from tropical 

 America. 5 Their flowers, often developed before the imparipinnate 

 leaves, are collected into lateral false umbels on the sides of the 

 branches or in the axils of the leaves. 



Distemonanthus* is a tree from tropical Africa whose flowers come 

 out before the alternate imparipinnate leaves, just as in Apuleia 

 precox, and possess an imbricated pentamerous calyx ; but they have 

 only the three posterior petals, the anterior being altogether absent 



Fig. 112. 

 Diagram. 



1 " Legumen (si rite Lie relafcum) oblongum 

 plano-compressum coriaceum, 2-valve. Seminn 

 transversa ovoidea" (B. H., Gen., 570). This 

 description of the pod and seeds is taken from 

 PI. 94 of the seventh volume of Vellozo's 

 Flora Fluminensis (Pterocaipus). 



2 Pohl., PI. Bras. Icon., ii. 90, t. 160.— 

 Walp., Rep., v. 559. 



3 Mart., Herb. Fl. Bras., 123 (uec G^ktn., 

 nee Less.). — Endl., Gen., n. G759. — B. H., 



Gen., 571, u. 330. — ZenJceria Ahn., in Mag. 

 Zool. it But., ii. 5 is. 



4 Rarely more than two. 



5 Voc, in Linnaa, xi. 393 (Leplololium). — 

 Wat p., Rep., v. 571. 



6 Benth., Gen., 573, n. 329. The only known 

 species is D. Benthamianus, hitherto undescribed. 

 [Oliv. ( Fl. Trop. Afr., ii. 252) describes a second 

 species, D. laxus Oi.iv.] 



