430 NATURAL 8ISTORY OF PLANTS. 



nate, or in various numbers, on a level with the insertion of the 

 leaves, but lateral to them. 



We have connected with this genus as simple sections, corre- 

 sponding- to most of those admitted in the genus ZygophyUum : 

 Porlieria,' composed of species from Western temperate America, 

 having a short support to the ovary, stamina! filaments lined by a 

 scale, from three to five carpels to the glabrous fruit, and compound- 

 pinnate leaves ; Pintoa, a Chilian shrub, having a short, thick ovary 

 support, staminal appendages cut pretty deeply, a capsular fruit 

 with five grooves comparable to those of ZygophyUum. Fabayo, and 

 paripinnate leaves ; Buhiesia, a spartioidal shrub of the same country, 

 with small paripinnate leaves, has staminal appendages similar to 

 those of Pintoa, but with fruits the cells of which are prolonged into 

 pretty large vertical wings, as in Rasper a and Sarcozygium. Finally, 

 Larrea, consisting of balsamic shrubs from the temperate Western 

 regions of the two Americas, with pinnate leaves, bi- or plurifolio- 

 late, short ovary support, staminal scales, simple, bifid or deeply cut 

 at the summit, and fruits the four or five carinate shells of which 

 are villous ; Pledrocarpa, a shrub from Mendoza, nearly allied to the 

 preceding genus, with thorny branches, and slightly irregular impari- 

 pinnate leaves, only two ovules in each cell, the fruit being elongated 

 and velvety, each of its five shells armed dorsally with a subulate 

 spur. Chitonia, a Mexican shrub, with pinnate leaves opposite or 

 alternate, is also nearly allied to the preceding genera. The flowers 

 are tetramerous, the corolla very large, regular, with eight inappen- 

 diculate stamens, a style with large stigmatiferous head, pluri- 

 ovulate ovary cells, and having for fruit a four-winged or four-valved 

 capsule, the cells usually containing two descending seeds, with 

 embryo surrounded by fleshy albumen. 



XII. NITRAEIA SERIES. 



Nitraric? (figs. 515-520) alone constitutes this small series; it has 

 regular, hermaphrodite flowers. The convex receptacle bears an 



1 L., Gen., n. 602. — Adans., Fain, des PL, Gen. Nitraria (in Ann. 8c. Nat., ser. 3, xiii. 



ii. 447 —J., Oen., 310.— GiGRTN., Fiuct., i. 21).— Linul., Veg. Kingd., 3S9, fig. 275.— 



279, t. 58. — Leech., in Nov. Act. Nat. Cur., v. Payer, Organog., 121, t. 26. — Ag., Theor. 



App., 162.— Lamk., III., 1. fc03.— PoiH., Diet., Syst., 367. — B. H., Gen., 265, n. 5.— H. Bar., 



iv. 192 j Suppl., iv. 99.— DC, JProdr., iii. 456. — in Pager Fam. Nat., 313. — Osi/ris Gmei.., (nee 



Endl., Gen., n. 57 J 1. — Jaub. & Spach, Consj). L., ex Adans.). 



