Pedilanthes.| EUPHORBIACER. 419 
2-cleft ; capsules 3-lobed, truncate at both ends, about 14 lin. long, 
the cocci keeled. 
Has.—Frequently cultivated, especially in the Prome district, in villages, 
hedges, ete.—Fl. March-Apr. 
URTICACEM. 
Flowers unisexual or rarely polygamous. Perianth simple, con- 
sisting of 3-5 segments (rarely reduced to 1 or 2), imbricate or 
induplicate in the bud. Stamens as many as perianth-segments and 
attached, but the micropyle always superior ; style simple, or more or 
educed to a sessile, 
bearing the fruits or enclosing them. Seeds with or without albu- 
men, the testa membranous. Embryo straight, curved, or spirally 
n true Urticee excessive causticity prevails, and is especially 
conspicuous in the stinging nettles and still more in the Laporteas, 
of which one species is called by the Malays the devil’s leaf (“down 
seitan”). According to Endlicher this causticity is caused by the 
presence of bicarbonate of ammonia. Narcotic qualities are chiefly 
met with in hemp and hop. Poisonous principles in a high degree 
occur in the juice of the Javanese upas-tree (Antiaris toxicaria), but 
also the milk of several fig-trees (like F. tovicaria, demona, etc.) is a 
virulent poison. Caoutchouk of superior quality is obtained from 
several kinds of fig-trees, chiefly Views elastica and FP. laceifera. 
Castiloa elastica and Cecropia peltata yield also good caoutchouk, 
The cow-tree (Brosimum) of South America yields a copious supply 
of rich and wholesome milk. The tenacity of the fibre makes man 
Species (chiefly of the sub-order, Urticee proper) important for trade 
