8AXIFBAGAGE2E. 



417 



This order, large as it is, contains but few useful plants. True, a 

 large number are cultivated to adorn our conservatories, gardens, 

 parks, and public places ; for foliage are planted the so-called 

 "Oriental" and "Occidental" Plane-trees, referred by several authors 

 to one and the same species, 1 and more rarely various species of 

 Liquidambar, Hamamelis, Parrotia, and Fothergilla ; for their elegant 

 flowers many Saxifrages, especially suitable to rockeries, Philadelplim 

 {Sijrmga of gardeners) and Deutzia? Astilbe, Itea, HcucJiera, Tiarella, 

 Tellima, &c, Frcmcoa, numerous Hydrangeas (especially the Hortensia* 

 of gardeners, with its large whitish pink or bluish sepals), and in 

 the conservatory Cunonia capensis, several species of Weinmannia, 

 Escallonia, Brunia, and Bauera, Callicoma serratifolia, Ceratopetalum 

 gummiferum, Abroprftyllam omans, and most of the Pittosporece, the 

 superb Rhodoleia ckincnsis for the coloured bracts surrounding its 

 flower, and Cepl/alotus follicularis for its curious pitchers. Many 

 species of the genus Ribes (Fr., Groseillier) are prized for their fruits/ 

 Those of Billiardera mutabilis are also edible and of pleasant 

 acidulous taste. Otherwise alimentary plants are very rare in this 



come off when the subjacent layer of periderm is 

 destroyed with age. The Liquidambarese, again, 

 have a peculiar structure (Griff., in As. Res., xix. 

 95, 99), also found in many Hamamelidea. In 

 Bucklandia and SedgwicHa the woody fibres 

 bear areolate pores, recalling those of Conifers. 

 Oliver, (in Trans. Linn. Soc, xxiii. 83 ; Stem in 

 Dicot., 19 ; in Nat. Hist. Rev., ii. 316), has ex- 

 amined, besides the preceding genera, Rhodoleia, 

 Trichocladus, Hamamelis, Sycopsis, Eusligma, 

 Distylium, and Corylopsis. He finds a great 

 uniformity of structure. He ascribes the disks of 

 the parenchyma to the presence of minute len- 

 ticular cavities between the adjoining wood-cells ; 

 the canals opposed on each side to these cavities 

 are almost invariably elongated laterally, though 

 sometimes nearly circular and very minute. The 

 wood is traversed by numerous vessels, which are 

 generally transversely barred. The medullary rays 

 are numerous and narrow. In Bucklandia the 

 markings on the parenchyma are very distinct. 

 The medullary rays are very numerous, usually 

 one cell in diameter ; vertically they are very 

 variable in extent, commonly presenting 10-12 

 superimposed eells, though I have counted about 

 45. The wood of the Ribesiece, has been studied 

 by Hanstein (Ueb. den Zusammenh. d. Blatt- 

 stell. mit dem Bau cles Die. Holzringes, in 

 Pringsh. Jalirb., i. t. xvi. 10). 



1 Detrimental effects have been ascribed to the 

 Plane-trees through the introduction of the down 



VOL. III. 



that comes off from the shoots in spring, or the 

 long hairs accompanying the fruits, into the air- 

 passages of Man. 



2 I), scabra (Thunb., Nov. Gen., 19, 21 ; Tc. 

 Fl. Jap., 185; — Joro, Utsugi K^mpf., Amoen. 

 Exot., 58-1) owes its name to its rough leaves, 

 which are said to be used by the Japanese 

 labourers for polishing. 



3 H. hortensia DC, Prodr., iv. 15, n. 12. — 

 H. hortensis Sm., Ic. Pict., i. t. 12. — Primula 

 mutabilis Lour. — Viburnum serratum Tn unb. — 



V. tomentosum Thu>b. — Hortensia opuloides 

 Lame. — H. speciosa Pers. 



4 Especially the Gooseberry (Ribes G-rossu- 

 laria L., Spec., 291; — R. Uva crispa L., 

 Spec, 292), the Red and White Currant 

 (R. rubrum L., Spec., 290), the Black Cur- 

 rant (R. nigrum L., Spec, 291 ; — R. olidum 

 Mcench, Metli., G83). And, more rarely, R. 

 reclinatum L., spicaium Eobs., petra'titn Wtjlf., 

 alpinum L. ; in Sibtria R. prociimbens Pall. 

 and fragans Pall. ; and in North America B. 

 floridum Heist. (R. pensylvanicum Lame.), 



aureum Pursh (Chrysobotrya revoluta Spach), 

 Cynobasii L., oxyacanlhcides L., Menzisii 

 PtriiSH, liirtellmn Micnx., divaricatum Dougl., 

 magellanicum Poir. (Rosenth., Syn. PI. Dia- 

 fhor., 580, 1140). The fruit of R. incbrians 

 Linbl. {Ceropliyllum inebrians Spach) is con- 

 sidered poisonous and an emetic. 



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