160 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



thus defined consists of unarmed shrubs from India, Madagascar, 

 Arabia, and above all the east of Tropical Africa. Their leaves are 

 simple or unifoliolate, more rarely trifoliolate. The flowers are 

 axillary or terminal, solitary or in racemes or corymbs. Some twenty 

 species are known. 1 



IV. ? BOPALOCARPUS SERIES. 



Hopahcarpus (figs. 184, 185) 2 has regular hermaphrodite flowers. 

 They have four sepals, an outer pair and an inner pair, alternate- 



Ropalocarpus lucidus. 

 .<*« £*JE*. .'' a ^-r £^V >p 



Fig 184. 

 Fruit. 



Fig. 185. 

 Long. sect, of fruit. 



imbricate in the bud. There are also four alternating petals, equal 

 or slightly unequal, tapering at the base, unequally dentate or incised 

 at the apex, finely reticulate, of very delicate texture, imbri- 

 cated and slightly corrugated in the bud, very caducous. Im- 

 mediately above the perianth are inserted the indefinite free sta- 

 mens ; their filaments are corrugated in the bud, and their anthers 

 are versatile (originally introrse) and tw T o-celled, dehiscing longitudi- 

 nally. After thus bearing the perianth and androceum, the receptacle 



1 Vahl., Symb., i. 36. — Deless., Ic. Sel., iii. 

 t. 13. — Wight & Au>\, Prodr., i. 23 {Nie- 

 buhria).— A. Rich., Fl. Sen. Tent.,\. 27, t.78.— 

 Cambess., in Jacquem. T'oy., But., t. 23, 2 1. — 

 Hook., Icon., t. 124 {Niebuhria). — Habv. & 

 Som>., Fl. Cap.,i, 60 {Niebuhria), 61 {Boscia). — 



Hart., Thes. Cap., t. 134 (Boscia).— Oliv., Fl. 

 Trap. Afr., i. S3. — Walp., Rep., i. 196, 197 j v. 

 53 ; Ann., ii. 59. 



2 Bo J., llori. Maurit., 44 (err. typ. B'/pulo 

 carpus). — B. II., Gen., 238, 985, n. 32?— 

 Bocy., in Adansonia, vii. 61. 



