488 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



III. CiecEjE. 1 — Flowers regular, oftener irregular, 2-4-mcrous. 

 ■with two fertile stamens. Ovules l-oo , descending or ascending. 

 Style simple. Fruit dry. Seeds without albumen. — 4 genera. 



IV. Trapes. 2 — Flowers regular, 4-merous, isostemonous. Ovules 

 descending (ordinarily solitary), with micropyle interior and superior. 

 Style simple, capitate at summit. Fruit dry, indéhiscent, spinous. 

 Seeds without albumen ; embryo with two very unequal cotyledons. 

 — 1 genus. 



V. Halorage^!. 3 — Flowers regular, 2-4-merous, hermaphrodite or 

 polygamous, often small. Style with distinct branches, same in 

 number as the ovarian cells to which they are superposed. Ovules 

 solitary, descending, with micropyle interior and superior. Fruit 

 finally dry, indéhiscent. Seeds albuminous. — 4 genera. 



VI. Gunnere^e. 4 — Flowers regular, polygamous, small, 2-3- 

 androus. Style with two branches. Ovule unilocular, uniovulate. 

 Fruit drupaceous. Seed albuminous. Embryo very small. — 1 genus. 



VII. Hippuride^e. 5 — Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, monan- 

 drous (exceptionally 2-androus), unicarpellate. Style simple. Ovary 

 unilocular, uniovulate. Fruit drupaceous, little fleshy, with mono- 

 spermous putamen. Seed descending, with thin albumen. — 1 genus. 



Affinities. — The Onagrariaceœ might be defined as Lythrariucece 

 with inferior and, as often said, adherent ovary. By this character 

 they are also separated from the Metastomaceœ or at least from the 

 greater part of them. By it they much resemble the Myrtacece and 

 the Rhizophoracece with inferior ovary ; but they have not the 

 glands with odorous essence of the former ; and when the latter 

 have ovules definite in number, they are descending with the micro- 

 pyle turned upwards and outwards. The partition separating the 

 cells being more or less completely wanting in the Onagrariaceœ, 

 they thereby approach the Gombretaceœ, to which early writers, as 

 we have seen, united them. But the descending ovules of the 



1 DC. lue, cit. 2.— Endl. Gen. 1194, tribe 6.— Go, Ord. 72.— Endl. Gen. 119,5, Ord. 266.—]!. II. 

 Cireeacea Lin]>l. Si/i.ojis. (1829) 109. — Lopezàœ Gen. 673, Ord. Gi.—Hygrobice Rich. Anal, du 

 Spach, Ann. 8c. Nat. sér. 2, iv. 162. Fruit, 34. — Cercodiaeea J. Diet. Se. Nat. vii. 441. 



2 Endl. Gen. 1197.— Hydrocanjcs DC. Mi'-m. * Gun neraeeœ Endl. Gen. 285.— DC Prodi: 

 Onagr. 2. X vi. sect. ii. 596, Ord. 72. 



3 R. Hi:. Fliud. Voy. ii. 549.— DC. Prodi: iii. '- Link, Eitnm. i. (1S21) /5. 



