302 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



The forty geneva 1 united in this family include about four hun- 

 dred and fifty species, all belonging to the warmest regions of the 

 globe. They extend in Africa to the Cape of Good Hope, and are 

 not found farther north in America than Mexico. The family ceases, 

 moreover, at Chili, and at one part or another of Central China and 

 Japan. It is neither represented in Europe, nor in the United States. 

 The two series of Papayea and Lacistemece are only represented in 

 America ; those of the Calanticece and Pangieai only in the Old 

 World. This only possesses about a hundred and thirty species of 

 Bixacea ; the other three hundred and twenty species being American. 

 There are only American species in the genera Bixa, Perdiscus, 

 Lcetia, Samyda, Eucercea, Lunania, Tetrathylacium, Byania, KuJilia, 

 Banara, Azara, Abatia. The genus Osmelia is peculiar to tropical 

 Asia ; Idesia to Japan ; Dovt/alis, Trimeria, Ludia, Apldoia, Pyramido- 

 carpus, Dissomeria, Asteropeia, Calantica, Byrsanthus, Kiyyelaria, and 

 Bawsonia are peculiar to tropical or subtropical Africa, continental 

 or insular; Slreptotkamnus, to Australia. As common to the two 

 Worlds, but more abundant in the New, we find Oncoba, Xylosn/a, 

 Guidonia, Ilomalium, Tumera, and Cochlospermmn. Flacourtia and 

 Scolopia, natives of the old continent, are found in Asia, Australia, 

 and Africa. 



The characters common to all the Bixacece are not numerous ; we 

 can only cite as constant, or nearly so, the woody consistence 

 of the stem, 2 the parietal placentation, the indefinite number of the 

 ovules, the presence of a fleshy albumen. In this, Bixacece singu- 

 larly resemble the Tiliacete and Ternstroemiacea, whose ovary cells 

 are far from being always complete ; and as the praefloration of their 

 calyx is variable, it may be said that they represent the parietal 

 placentation of the Tiliace<B when their calyx is valvate, and of the 

 Ternsfrcemiacete when it is imbricated. At the same time, the series 

 with free ovaries have numerous points of contact with the Cistacece 

 nearly allied to Cochlospermece, and only differ from them by their 



1 Besides those which are doubtful, in which 2 Oliter (Stem, in Dicot., fi) has studied the 



is included Tachibota (Guian ., 287, 1. 112) doubt- organization of the wood in Bixa Orellana, and 



fully ascribed to Bixacea, by Endltcher (Gen., has pointed out the tbick numerous medullary 



n. 5884), and which Schreber (Gen., n. 513) rays, the woody tissue consisting of elongated 



had named Salmasia, but which seem separated cellules little thickened, and often with abrupt 



from this family, according to Benth. & extremities. The mass is traversed by finely 



Hooker (Gen., 124). It is perhaps a Sa- punctured or radiated vessels, generally two or 



my da. three radial. 



