Ord. BYTTNERIACEiE. 



Arbores, frutices, rariusve herbas ; aestivatione corollas in- 

 derdum valvar! ; staminibus definitis, iisdem sepalis antepo- 

 sitis ssepissime sterilibus vel abortivis ; antheris bilocularibus, 

 loculis parallelis ; granulis pollinis laevibus ; ovario e carpellis 

 3-5 conjimctis composite 3 - 5-locularij rariusve simplici. 

 — CsBtera fere Malvacearum. 



Byttneriaceje, R. Brown in Flinders, Voy. 2. p. 540. DC. Prodr. 1. p. 

 481, excl. § 1. Endl. Gen. p. 995. Lindl. Veg. Kingd. p. 363. 

 Malvace^ Tr. BiJTTNERiEa;, St. Hil. FI. Bras. 



BiJTTNERrACE^, HeRMANNIACE^, &, DoMBEYACE^:, Bartl. 



The Byttneriacej; constitute one of the tropicul families which have 

 been separated from the Malvaceae of Jussieu, but which manifestly belong 

 to the same natural group with the proper Mallow Family. From the latter 

 this order is at once distinguishable by its two-celled anthers, the cells of 

 which are distinct and parallel, its smooth pollen, and usually few fertile 

 stamens. The carpels are also uniformly few in number and perfectly con- 

 solidated into a compound pistil, or in some cases reduced to one simple 

 pistil. From the Sterculiaceas, taken collectively, no absolute character has 

 been indicated to distinguish them. Dr. Lindley, indeed, in his recent work 

 cited above, through some mistake, states that the anthers of Byttneriaceaa 

 are turned inwards, and rests his diagnosis upon this character ; but the 

 anthers are plainly extrorse in the greater part, if not in all, of the plants of 

 the family. 



The exterior stamens, which constitute the fertile series when there is 

 only one, are situated opposite the petals and are usually coherent with their 

 base, just as in MalvacesE. Each single stamen of Melochia (Plate 134), 

 therefore, is plainly equivalent to one of the five fascicles of which the Mal- 

 vaceous column, when examined hi an early stage, is seen to be composed, 

 and doubtless originates from a simple deduplication of the petal to which its 

 base coheres ; while the interposed series of sterile filaments, in Melochia 

 reduced to five teeth alternate with the petals (Plate 134, Fig. 4), represent 

 the true stamineal verticil, and correspond with the five naked lobes at the 

 summit of the column of Malvaviscus (Plate 131) and of the Hibisceae. 



