47(1 NAT un AL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



diplostemonous androceum. The disk is annular or very nearly 

 wanting. The ovary generally has three cells (and in one species 

 ten or twelve), and each cell contains a single descendent ovule. 

 The fruit is drujiaceous, sometimes hardly fleshy, with a plurilocular 

 stone, and the seeds, attached by their internal edge, are covered by 

 a thin fleshy coat. Heijnca also has flowers with four or five parts. 

 The petals are imbricate, and sometimes valvate or nearly so, in 

 Walsura, which is distinguishable ffom the true Ilcynea only by the 

 indehiscence of its slightly fleshy fruit. Both have stamens whose 

 filaments, instead of being united to the top in a sort of monadelphous 

 sack, are deeply separated (sometimes even nearly to the base). All 

 are woody and belong to tropical Asia. The leaves have one or three 

 folioles, or more often a larger number of pinnate folioles. In the 

 Ekchei-gias, the tropical and south African analogues of the prece- 

 ding types, there are also five imbricate petals, ten stamens with 

 anthers exserted to the cupuliform and 10-dentate tube, and a 

 cupuliform disk. But the fruit is a berry presenting two to five in- 

 complete cells or even a single one. The seeds are destitute of a true 

 aril.i 



In the small group of Guarcecv, the general characters, especially 

 of the gynaîceum style and dislv, arc the same as in the preceding 

 types ; but the androcevim is easily distinguished by the anthers, 

 inserted inside the tube, remaining entirely enclosed in it, or exceed- 

 ing it only by a very small part of the summit. The Guareas them- 

 selves, all of tropical America, have 3-6-merous and diplostemonous 

 flowers. The calyx and corolla are usually valvate. They become 

 imbricate, however, in Rtiayca^ which has been considered the type 

 of a distinct genus, without this difference of prœfloration seeming to 

 us to have more importance here than in many other genera of this 

 group. The gynseceum, sessile or stipitate, usually shows towards its 

 base a superficial glandular thickening, more or less distinctly cir- 

 cumscribed. The ovary cells each contain one or two ovules, pri- 

 marily descendent, with micropyle exterior and superior ; and in the 

 lociilicidal capsular fruit, are seeds totally or in part covered hj a 

 membranous aril originating from the hilum. Dasijcoleum, from 



' Beddomea, from the mountains of India, is gynous disk. Beariiia, an Australian plant, 



described as having, with the flowers of Oweiiia allied, it is said, to Beddomea, is distinguished 



and 2'y ichilin, stamens with thick connective, by the shape of its anthers (connective) and its 



and the marginal cells of the anther finally con- two parielal placentas. (See page 49S). 

 fluent. Its trilui. ular ovary is destitute of hypo- 



