82 NATURAL HT STORY OF PLANTS. 



dinally. Seeds smooth ; testa crustaceous, arillate to hilum ; coty- 

 ledons of albuminous embryo elliptical or obovate. — Small trees or 

 sbrubs, sometimes spinescent ; leaves opposite or generally alter- 

 nate, entire or dentate, penninerved or 3-plinerved at base, glabrous 

 or somewhat scaly or canescent tomentose beneath, petiolate ; 

 stipules small, caducous ; flowers ^ in corymbs or racemes terminal and 

 axillary to uppermost leaves of twigs, densely ramose, cymiferous or 

 glomeruliferous, umbelliform or elongate thyrsoid. {Temp, and trop, 

 west, regions of both Americas.^) 



16. Ventilago G^rtn.^ — Flowers hermaphrodite or more rarely 

 polygamous ; receptacle shortly obconical or broadly cupular, lined 

 with a thick annular or obtusely 5-gonal disk flat or depressed above. 

 Sepals 5, valvate, carinate within. Petals same in number deflexed 

 cucuUate, entire or 2-lobed at apex. Stamens equal in number; 

 fllaments free or adnate to petals at base ; anthers introrse or laterally 

 rimose ; connective sometimes excurrent. Germen immersed in 

 centre of disk, 2-locular; style very short compressed, stigmatose at 

 apex, shortly or very shortly 2-lobed, afterwards accrescent. Fruit 

 dry, indehiscent, subglobular, girt at the base or to a greater or less 

 height with the cupular receptacle apiculate to style accrescent and 

 dilated on both sides to an erect linear membranous or coriaceous 

 veined wing. Seed 1, exalbuminous ; cotyledons of fleshy embryo 

 thick; radicle inferior short. — Scandent or sometimes subprostrate 

 shrubs, glabrous or pubescent; leaves alternate ovate or oblong, 

 oftener oblique at base, petiolate ; stipules minute, caducous ; flowers 

 in terminal or axillary more or less compound ramose cymiferous 

 racemes, bracteolate. ( Warm Asia, Africa and Oceania."^) 



17. Smythea Seem.^ — Flowers of Ventilago, Fruit ^ ovate much 



1 White, yellow or azure ; pedicels aQd calyx ^ Rumph. Herb. Amboin. v. t. 12— {Funis 

 often coloured. viminaUs).—Ro^-B. PI. Corom. i. 35, t. 76 ; Fl. 



2 Spec. 20-25. H. B. K. Nov. Gen. et Spec. vii. Ind. ii. 413.— Bl. ^?>V?r. 1144.— Wight and Ahn. 

 t. 615.— Hook. FL Bor.-Amer. t. 45.— Torr and Prodr. i. 164.— Wight, Icon. t. 163.— Benth. 

 Gray, Fl N.-Amer. i. 264.— A. Gray, Man. ed. Fl. Austral, i. 411 ; Journ. Linn. Sac. v. 77.— 

 5, 115. — Chapm. Fl. S. Unit. St. 7i.—Bot. Seem. Fl. Vit. il.— A. Gtlay, A>ner. Fxpl Fxp. 

 Mag. t. 4660, 4664, 4806, 4810, 4815, 5127, Pot. i. 274.— Tul. Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 4, viii. 

 5165, 5177.— Walp. Am. ii. 267; iv. 434; 120. — Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. i. 378.— H. Bn. 

 vii. 591. Adansonia, xi. 268.— Walp. Ann. vii. 586. 



3 Fruct. i. 233, t. 49.— Pom. Diet. viii. 451. ^ Ponplandia (1861), 255; Fl. Fit. 41, t. 11. 

 —DC. Prodr. ii. 38.— Ad. Br. Phamn. 50, t. 1. — B. H. Gen. 375, 998, n. 2.— Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 

 — Endl. Gen. n. 6715.— B. H. Gen. 375, n. 1.— 632, 



Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 630. e j^ther large, downy. 



