430 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Next to Cinnamomum come five other genera, which have the 

 same flower, and only differ in characters of very slight value, such 

 as the nervation of the leaves, the disproportion of the two whorls 

 of the perianth, and the behaviour of the perianth floral receptacle 

 and pedicel after anthesis. These are PJtcebe, Macliilus, Alseodaphne, 

 Persea, and Nothaphosbe. In the genus Phoebe, consisting of trees 

 from both Worlds, the whole perianth persists around the fruit, 

 becoming dry and indurated, especially at the base, which is con- 

 tinuous with the slightly swollen top of the pedicel. The perianth 

 of Machilus is also persistent, its divisions are more or less reflexed 

 near their non-indurated apex, and the pedicel is not thickened. 

 The leaves are penniveined. Alseodaphne has a deciduous perianth ; 

 so that below the fruit we only find the ill-developed receptacle 

 surmounting a large swollen club-shaped pedicel, more or less 

 fleshy and sprinkled with glands on the surface. In the Avo- 

 cados (Per sea '; Fr., Acocatier) the perianth persists nearly 

 always, though not constantly, sometimes coming off with the 

 receptacle itself. The pedicel is thickened more or less, but 

 never so much as in Alseodajjbie ; and the three inner divisions 

 of the perianth are very often larger than the outer ones. This 

 disproportion between the sepals and petals is still more marked 

 in Nothaphcebe, in certain species of which the former almost dis- 

 appear. The pedicel is slightly thickened, and the perianth per- 

 sists, without enlarging around the base of the fruit. It will be 

 evident, from the slight importance of these characters, that we 

 have here a very natural group, and that to make its study possible 

 by subdivision, we are compelled to use other than well-marked 

 features. 



Apollonias, whose flowers have the same organization as in Cinna- 

 momum, is easily distinguished by its anthers possessing only two 

 cells instead of four. The same number is also found in the three 

 genera Hufelandia, Nesodapkne, and Haasia, which differ from 

 Apollonia only in such characters as distinguish the other genera 

 with quadrilocular anthers from Cinnamomum. In Beilschmiedia the 

 ovary presents a new peculiarity : it is incompletely divided by a 

 false septum into two cavities. 



In this series we also place two exceptional genera, Aiouea and 

 Potameia. The former has two-celled stamens, as in the preceding 

 genera ; but the perianth is short in proportion to the receptacle ; 



