Ord. SAPINDACEiE. 



Arbores, frutices, rarius lierba? scandentes, altcrnifolia^, 

 rarissime oppositifolias, exstipulatse : dicotyledoneas, saspius 

 unsymmetricse, 4-5-mera3 plerumque 7-9-andraB; sestiva- 

 tione imbricativa; petalis et stamiuibus disco hypogyno v. 

 subperigyno carnoso insertis, antheris longitndiiialiter dchis- 

 centibus; ovario 3-loculari, loculis 1-2-oviilatis ; seminibus 

 nunc arillatis exalbuminosis ; embryone sa^pissime curvatis 

 convolutisve, cotyledonibus incumbentibus carnosis. 



Sapindi, Juss. Gen. p. 246. 



Sapindace^:, Juss. in Ann. Mus. 18. p. 476. Cambess. in Mem. Mus. 



18. p. 1. Endl. Gen. p. 1066. Lindl. Veg. Kingd. p. 382. 

 Sapindace^ & HippocASTANEiE, DC. Tlieor. ed. 2. p. 244, &- Prodr. 1. 



p. 597, 601. 



The Soapberry Family is principally tropical and altogether e.xtra-Euro- 

 pean. In the southern portion of the United States, however, we have sin- 

 gle representatives of three genera of true Sapindaceae, which order, as 

 usually restricted, has the leaves (with one exception) alternate, and the 

 petals commonly appendaged by an internal deduplication. The Horse- 

 chestnuts and Buckeyes, which belong to the northern temperate zone in 

 Asia and North America, have long been received as a distinct family, char- 

 acterized by their opposite and digitate leaves, inappendiculate petals, and 

 the geminate ovules, of which the upper one in each cell is ascending, the 

 lower pendulous. But the distinction is completely destroyed by the recent- 

 ly di.scovercd Texan genus, Ungnadia, Endl., which, with the fruit, the 

 conferruminate cotyledons, and the general aspect and floral structure of 

 Ilippocastaneae, has alternate and pinnate leaves, cristate-appendaged petals, 

 and both ovules ascending. Besides, the geminate ovules of Dodonaea 

 (Plate 182) are turned in the same way as those of the Horsechestnut. 

 I cannot doubt, therefore, that the Hippocastanea; should form a tribe 

 merely of Sapindaceae, as suggested by Endlicher, and recently adopted 

 by Lindley. 



Active or poisonous qualities prevail, especially in the root, bark, foliage, 

 and the bitter seeds of this family ; while llie I'riiit, allliougli in many cases 



