Ord. TILIACEiE. 



Arbores, rarissime herbae ; calyce valvar! deciduo ; asstiva- 

 tione corollae quandoque imbricativa; staminibus saspius 

 indefinitis, discretis sen 5-adelphis, toro plerumque stipiti- 

 formi vel glanduloso insertis ; antheris hilocularihus, granulis 

 pollinis laevibus ; fructu nunc abortu unilocular! : — caetera 

 fere Malvacearum. 



TiLiACE^, Juss. Gen. p. 290 (excl. gen.). Kuntli, Diss. Malv. p. 14. 



Bartl. Ord. Nat. p. 338. Endl. Gen. p. 1004. Lindl. Veg. 



Kingd. p. 371. 

 TiLiACEiE Sl EljEocarpe-?;, Juss. in Ann. Mus. 11. p. 31. DC. Prodr. 



1. p. 503, 519. Wiglit, 111. Ind. Bot. p. 79. t. 33-35. 



The Linden Family, represented in the northern temperate zone by the 

 well-known genus of handsome trees the name of which it bears, is how- 

 ever principally tropical. Of its thirty recognized genera, all but Tilia itself, 

 and a single species of Corchorus, which barely reaches our southern fron- 

 tier, belong to the torrid zone and to the sultriest regions beyond the tropic 

 of Capricorn. They are principally trees, often of great size and with hand- 

 some foliage and flowers ; a few are shrubs, and still fewer are humble herbs. 



In sensible properties, as well as in floral structure, TiJiaceas nearly resem- 

 ble the Mallow Family. They have a similar mucilaginous juice, a very 

 tough inner bark, and are entirely destitute of unwholesome qualities. 

 Some yield a succulent and edible fruit. The berries of Grewia sapida, &c., 

 are pleasantly acid, and are ingredients of sherbet. The bark and foli- 

 age are more or less astringent. The wood is light and usually soft, but 

 very fine-grained : that of Linden is much esteemed for wainscoting and 

 carving. " The excellent light timber called Trincomalec-wood, employed 

 in the construction of the Massoola boats of Madras, is furnished by Berrya 

 Ammonilla." Grewia elastica of India aflbrds a timber which is highly 

 valued for its strength and elasticity, and is used for bows, shafts, &c. The 

 tough fibrous inner bark, or bass, of the European Linden furnishes the well- 

 known Russian mats. Gunny-bags are made from the rudely prepared bark 

 of Corchorus capsularis, which also yields the long and glossy Indian fibre 

 called jw^e, a substitute for hemp and flax. " Ten years ago," according to 

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