198 G. King — Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula. [No. 4, 



expanded into a disc, with 5 glands alternating with the petals, or 

 without glands, raised in the centre into a beak, rarely flat. Stamens 

 as many as, or double, or treble the sepals, or fewer by suppression ; 

 filaments filiform or dilated, or connate into a ring ; anthers 2- 

 celled; cells parallel, opening lengthwise. Ovary 3-5-lobed, 3-5-celled, 

 rarely 2-lobed, of 3-5-carpels, united with the axis as far as the insertion 

 of the ovules, sometimes lengthened into a beak-bearing style or 

 styles, which are free or more or less united ; stigmas capitate, linear 

 or ligulate ; ovules 1 or 2 or rarely more, horizontal or pendulous or 

 ascending. Fruit capsular, 3-5-lobed, lobes 1-seeded, often separating 

 from the axis, septicidal or loculicidal, rarely berried. Seeds pendulous 

 or horizontal, albumen 0, or scanty or fleshy ; embryo straight or curved ; 

 cotyledons flat, convex or variously folded, foliaceons or thick or 

 fleshy ; radicle either short and near the hilum, or longer and inflected, 

 or incumbent on the cotyledons. — Distrib. Genera 20, with about 

 800 species, chiefly inhabiting temperate climates. 



OxALiDE-E. — Leaves compound, flowers regular. 

 Herbaceous. 



Leaves 3-foliolate ... ... 1. Oxalis, 



Leaves pinnate ... ... ... 2. Biophytum. 



Woody. 



Shrubs or trees, not scandent, fruit pro- 

 bably indehiscent ... ... 3. Gonnaropsis. 



Scandent shrubs, fruit certainly dehiscent 4. Dapania. 

 Balsamine^;. — Leaves simple, flowers irregular. 



Lateral petals connate in pairs, fruit capsular. 5. Impatiens. 

 Lateral petals free : fruit drupaceous ... 6. Hydrocera. 



1. Oxalis, Linn. 



Acid herbs, rarely shrubby. Leaves radical or alternate, stipulate 

 or ex-stipulate, compound, usually 3-foliolate. Flowers on axillary, 1- 

 or more flowered peduncles, regular. Sepals 5, imbricate. Petals 5, 

 hypogynous, contorted. Glands of the disc 0. Stamens 10, free or united 

 at the base, all anther-bearing. Ovary 5-lobed, 5-celled ; styles 5, 

 distinct ; stigma terminal, captitate, 2-fid or laciniate : ovules 1 or more 

 in each cell. Capsule with loculicidal dehiscence, valves persistent 

 to the axis. Seeds with an outer fleshy coat which bursts elastically, 

 testa crustaceous, albumen fleshy, embryo straight. — Distrib. Species 

 about 200, chiefly tropical and temperate S. American and S. African. 



1. Oxalis corniculata Linn. DC. Prod. I, 692. A diffuse, creep- 

 ing, adpressed-pubescent herb with long-petioled 3-foliolate, stipulate 



