232 



NATURAL HfSTOliY OF PLANTS. 



from the other in its appearance and foliage, which much resembles 

 that of several of the Malvaceae, particularly the ffermannia. This 

 only confirms what is known of the close affinity of the Chlamacece 

 and the Malvaceae with two-celled anthers. Only the stamens of the 

 Chlanacea are not monadelphous in the same way as those of a large 

 number of Malvaceae. Their filaments are not united among them- 

 selves, at the base, in a kind of tube, but are inserted upon the 

 interior surface and close to the base of a circular disc, in the shape 

 of a short vertical cylinder with superior independent edge. Tiliaceae 

 bears a great analogy with Chlcenacea, but the latter has an imbri- 

 cated calyx like Terns! rcemiacea? and Dipterocarpece, which are also 

 very nearly related. But the Chlainaceae are distinguished from all 

 others by the trimerous type of their imbricated or contorted calyx, 

 by their corolla formed of five or six petals, by their stipules, 1 the 

 nature of their involucre, their disc, their petals, generally contorted, 2 

 and by the character of their seeds. 3 Scarcely anything is known of 

 the uses of the Chlamacece, which are all natives of Madagascar. The 

 fleshy involucre of Sarcol&na grandijlora (vulg. Vaa-soui) has, accord- 

 ing to Dupetit-Thouaks, the taste of medlars. Eats eat it. S. multi- 

 para Dup.-Th. (figs. 235-237), or Vaamassa of the natives of 

 Madagascar, is, according to JJerniek, an aromatic shrub, the leaves 

 of which are chewed as a remedy for toothache. 



1 In certain Sarcohinas they are said to be 

 1 irge, analogous to those of certain Fig-trees (Fr., 

 Fk/uiers). The young leaves, v\hich have their 

 mode of vernation, have often without doubt 

 been taEeu for them. Their limb frequently 

 pn sents, as in Erythroxylon, fornicate longi- 

 tudinal lines similarto the nerves of several Melas- 

 tomacece, and which are only impressions produced 

 by the edges of the leaves at a certain distance 

 from the midrib of the limb during the period 

 of praefoliation when the foliaceous parenchyma 

 is soft and yielding. 



2 "A tribu JBotmetiearum velut a D/pfero- 

 carpi is, (juibus a'stivatio eadem, imprimis semi- 



num albumine distinguuntur." (B. H., Gen. 

 194). 



3 We have been able to study completely those 

 of Scleroulcena Richardi where tiny have an oval, 

 cordate form, flat or concave on the side of the 

 hilum which occupies almost the middle of the 

 height of the concave face, and to the plane of 

 which the embryo is parallel, with fornicate coty- 

 ledons, digitiuerved at the base, interposed to two 

 parallel layers of tolerably solid fleshy albumen. 

 In the other Chlcenacece the general organization 

 of the seed is the same ; but especially when 

 numerous, they are more or less deformed by a 

 reciprocal pressure. 



