MKLIACK.J^. 



little tongues without anthers ; the disk surrounds by a large and 

 high tube all the quinquelocular ovary ; and the capsular bristling 

 fruit is septifragal. They are Oceanian plants with alternate and 

 opposite leaves, punctate, compound-pinnate or 1-3-foliolate. 



The family of MeUacece was established by A. L. de Jussieu,' but 

 in a very vague manner, since it included some Macjnoliaceœ as 

 Canella^ some Ampelideœ as Leea^ some Clusiaceœ as Spuphonia, and 

 even some Ericaccce as Clcthra. Adanson had placed Meliu and 

 Trichllia in his family of Pistachios. R. Brown " had separated 

 Cedrelece from the other Meliacece, as a family ; they were reunited 

 by A. P. de Candolle,^ who, in 1824, admitted among Meliacece 

 three tribes and sixteen genera, of which only thii'teen now belong 

 to the family ; he was wrong in introducing Sfrigilia and Houinlri. 

 As to the genus Gcnuna^^ we do not know sufficiently well at present 

 to what group to unite it, and it remains provisionally, with some 

 others,^ among the doubtful MeUacece. In 1830, A. L. de Jussieu ^ 

 made known his researches on the group of MeUacece, to which he 

 attributed four tribes or secondary subdivisions, and thirty-six 

 genera, one of which belonged to Ternstrœmiaceœ and twelve ought 

 to be thrown aside as being a useless repetition. Twenty-one genera 

 remain to which contemporary botanists have added only a very 

 small number. Eluthcria of lÎŒiiER ^ was recently reinstated 

 among Swleteniece. Turczaninoav discovered in 1868 ^ the Dasy- 

 coleum of the Philippines, a genus to which we have just added a 

 new species from Borneo. J. Hooker ^ established in 1862 the 

 genus Beddomea ; F. Mueller the genera Owenia and Hear nia, in 

 1857'" and 1865.'^ We '^ have proposed the now African genus 

 Turrceopsis; which, for us, raises the number of generic types to thirty- 



' Gen. (17S9) 263, Ord. 11; M^m. Mus. iii. Benn. Horfs. PI. Jav. bar. 185), an Australian 



436; V. 226. — Bartl. Oid. Nat. 335. — Lindl. plant which is perhaps Tiirraa pt<be>cens 



JCntrod. ed. 2, 101; Veg. Kingd. 463, Ord. 173. Heli.en.— 2. Piptosaecos (Tuecz. Bull. Mo.ie. 



— Endl. Gen. 104G, Ord. 225.— Ac. T/icor. 6><. (1858), i. 415;— B. H. Gen. 330. A genus (of 



Plant. 225. — H. Bx. Pirycr Fain. Nat. 404, Trichiliéœ ?) little known. 



Fam. 178. " Mémoire sur le Oroujic des Meliicêes (in Mém. 



'' Flhid. Voy. (1814), 64; Mise. Wurks (ed. il/«.5. xix. 153). 



Besn.) i. 71. ■ Synops. 122 (1840). 



' Prodr. i. 619, Ord. 44. « Bull. Mvsc. (i.) 414. 



* FoRSK. FI. .i:,j.-Arab. 62.— J. Gen. 264.— ^ Gen. 336. 



Exdl. Oen. n. 4570.— B. IL Oen. 330 (" Euplior- '" Uooh. Kcw Jourii. i.x. 



biacea ? ") 387. (Celastracéo ? ?). 'i Fragm. v. 



* They are: 1. Leptnjihrag)na (K. Br. et '- ^f?rt«so«irt, xi. (1874). 



