POLYOALACE/E. 81 



detail the characters of the various genera. Since then the limits 

 of this family have scarcely been altered; and in 186:2 Bentham and 

 Hooker in their Genera only added the old genus Moutahea of 

 AuBLET,' formerly connected with the Ehcnacece ; XanthophfjUiDn of 

 Roxbm-gh,- whose mode of placentatiou had hitherto separated it 

 from this gronp ; Carpohhin of Don,^ long imperfectly known ; and 

 the gcuns Phlchohenia, then recently established by Grisebach.* By 

 reducing to simple sections several genera preserved by these authors, 

 wo find only twelve remaining grouped into three series of which 

 the following are the distinctive characters. 



1. PoLYGALE^. — Flowers ii'regular. Ovary with two cells or with 

 only one, the posterior aborting (rarely with three cells). One 

 descendent ovule inserted in the inner angle of each cell. Fruit 

 dry or fleshy. Embryo albuminous or exalbuminous. — 9 genera. 



2. Xanthophtlle^. — Flowers irregular (of Pohjcjala). Ovary 

 unilocular, with parietal placentas. Ovules 2-co . Fruit fleshy. 

 Embryo albuminous or exalbuminous. — 1 genus.^ 



3. Kramerie^. — Flowers ir-regular, resupinate. Petals 3, 4, pos- 

 terior. Stamens 3-5 posterior. Ovary unilocular (by abortion), 

 furnished with two large anterior -lateral glands. Single cell (an- 

 terior) with two descendent collateral ovules. Fruit dry, indehiscent, 

 and monospermous. Embryo exalbuminous. — 1 genus. 



Some five hundred sj)ecies of Polygalacece are reckoned. All those 

 of the Krumcria series are American ; and all of the genus 

 Xdnfhopltyllum belong to tropical Asia and Oceania. In the 

 Polijcjalem series, which alone contains about five hundred species, 

 three-fifths are American ; Pltlehotwnia and Monnina are exchisivelj' 

 so, while Mur(dfi(( and MundHa^ containing some fifty species, belong 

 to South Africa ; the two known Cdi'jiolohius are from tropical western 

 Africa ; Tfhjonimtrum from Malaysia. The Comcapcnna proper are 

 all Australian, and the species of the section Bredemeyera are fi'om 

 tropical America. Pohjgalu and Securidacu are common to both 

 worlds, the latter to the warm regions only.'' 



' Ouiaii. (1775). series, whose characters should then he slightly 



' PL Coromaiid. iii. (1819). modified, the placontation of Mnutuhca heiiig 



^Gen. StiH. i. (1831). roiilly axile. 



■•In I'l. Wrif//it. Ciih. (1861). "It would ho useful to study histologically 



^ Or two, if J/'/K/rt'wre is connected witli lln^i llio stumsi of the i'o/j/i/rttoi'e*, especially those 



VOL. V. U 



