EUPHORBIAOEjE. 147 



dioecious, 3-5-merous flowers, the males disposed in spikes of 

 glomernles, the females in spikes provided with an hypogynoiis 

 ureeolate disk.^ Ilymmocardia, from tropical Asia and Africa, having 

 male flowers in simple spikes, a calyx with valvate or but slightly 

 inibricated divisions, and a bilocular fruit, surmounted by two large 

 wings, which corresjiond to the backs of the cells, and form a 

 samara. Baccaurea, which grows in tropical Africa, Asia, and Oceania, 

 has an indehiscent fruit, the seeds provided with a fleshy aril ; the au- 

 droceum is isostemonous, or diplostemonous, with a verticil of stamens, 

 one or more of which may be deduplicate. Uapaca, inhabiting conti- 

 nental and insular tropical Africa, having male flowers analogous to 

 those of Securinega and Baccaurea, isostemonous, all collected, at the 

 summit of a common pedimcle, in a ball enveloped by a calyciform in- 

 volucre ; the fi-uit is trimerous, fleshy or suberous. Bisclioffla, composed 

 of trees from tropical Asia and Oceania, with male flowers very 

 analogous to Hymenocardia,, but collected in very ramified clusters, 

 without disli, an indehiscent fruit, almost entirely fleshy, distin- 

 guished above all by its comj^ound-trifoliolate leaves, analogous 

 to those of certain Araliacecs and Terchiniliacea. The Piranheas^ 

 natives of Brazil, also with trifoliolate leaves, but an indefinite 

 number of stamens in the male flower, replaced in the female flower 

 by some hypogynous tongues, the rudimentary gynfeceum repre- 

 sented by a rather large number of glandular lobes, extending to 

 the space at the foot of the stamens. Freireodendron^ a Brazilian 

 tree, having, it is said, the stamens inserted round a central disk- 

 shaped body, the exterior five superposed to the sepals, and whose 

 drupaceous fruit is, like the ovary, unilocular. Drypctcs, whose ovary 

 has one, two or three cells, like Antldesma^ and whose fruit always 

 becomes indehiscent. The stamens are sometimes definite and 

 sometimes indefinite in number, and inserted round a central body 

 of variabio dimensions, described sometimes as a disk and sometimes 

 as a rudimentary gynasceum. They belong to all tropical countries. 

 The Putranjivas (fig. 244-247) are referred to another tribe and 



1 Wc are unaUo to dcfinitoly fix the place of l;iif^c imbriratcd foliacoous ealyx, and a con- 

 thc Dissiliaria^, whose female flower is alone tiniious cupula-shapcd disk, surrounding the 

 known, hut whoso fruit nearly resemhlcs that base of the ovary. The two species at present 

 of the Richerias, tri- and tctracoccous, with known arc Australian. Their leaves are gene- 

 opposite leaves, which gives them the ap- rally opposite, 

 pearance of certain llaloghiu [Codiaum), a 



