166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



affinity. Hooker (following Lindley) compared it with Violariece, 

 " which resemble it in their irregular flower, with unequal dorsal petal, 

 in their perigynous insertion, tubular style, one-celled ovary with three 

 parietal nerviform placentas and anatropous ovules ; but Moringece 

 are widely separated by habit, one-celled anthers and exalbuminous 

 seeds." The affinities of Moringece with the Capparidece are to be 

 observed "in their polypetalous imbricate corolla, perigynism, stamens 

 more numerous than petals, stipitate one-celled ovary, parietal placen- 

 tation, siliquose capsule, exalbuminous embryo, alternate leaves, and 

 caducous stipules." To these must be added the acrid root^ leaves^ and 

 bark which are common to both families, recalling the smell and taste 

 of the horse-radish, and associating Moringa with the Cruciferce, them- 

 selves so closely allied to Capparidece. 



Kurz places this plant between the Capparidece and Violacece, as 

 orders belonging to sub-division Parietales (i.e., having parietal pla- 

 centas) of the thalamiflorous plants. The observations of Wight on this 

 question are too interesting to be omitted in such a general considera- 

 tion of the true position of the Moringa in the series of natural orders. 

 He realizes the difficulty of assigning the Moringa its exact place. 

 " This small order," says he,* " consisting of one genus and about 

 three species, long associated with Leguminosce though sufficiently 

 distinct, and so peculiar in its relations that it is not yet distinct 

 where it should stand in the series of orders, the structure of the 

 ovary placing it among the parietose group, near Violariece, while 

 according to the flowers it is more justly referable to the tribe Casal- 

 pinece of the Leguminosce" Notice that some botanists think the 

 Moringa is more allied to the sub- order Papilionacece. "The characters 

 derived from the tribe Ccesalpinece of Leguminosce as being the more 

 conspicuous of the two seem to have induced botanists to prefer 

 placing it near the Leguminosce, the more so as the habit still further 



associates it with that order." 



******* 



" Affinities. — As stated above, these are very obscure owing to the 

 peculiar structure of the ovary, one-celled with three parietal placentae, 

 the fruit afterwards splitting into three valves. Arnott (Encyclopedia 



Wight's Illustrations of Botany, pp. 186-187, 1840. 



