110 
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
shrub possessing more or less aromatic properties ; they have alternate 
entire leaves and rather large solitary flowers, with 3 sepals and about 
6 petals, thus presenting an anthotaxy or fioral arrangement somewhat 
Fig. 93. Fruiting branch of nutmeg 
(Myristica fragrans), one-half natural 
size. Original, 
unusual among exogenous plants. The 
stamens and carpels are variable, the lat- 
ter usually fleshy in fruit. 
The common papaw, Asimina triloba, is 
familiar to residents of the southern 
States and of the Ohio and Mississ- 
ippi valley regions. The lurid purple 
flowers of this tree, appearing with the 
leaves in early spring, are quite ornamen- 
tal, while the oblong yellowish fruits have 
a rich flavor when ripe, superior in the 
writer's opinion to that of the banana. 
There are other species of Asimina in the 
far South. None of them attain the dig- 
nity of arborescence, but some have very 
large and handsome flowers (see Fig. 92.) 
In the West Indies the related genus 
Anona yields several much-prized tropical 
fruits. The soursop is the product 
of A. muricata; it has a white pulp 
and a pleasant subacid flavor, the © 
outer rind being greenish and cov- 
ered with prickles. The sweetsop 
is the fruit of A. squamosa; it is 
sweeter but also more tasteless. 
Uvaria, which is common through- 
out the Indo-Malayan region, con- 
sists wholly of climbing shrubs; the 
fruit is occasionally edible, but the 
genus is chiefiy valuable on ac- 
count of the variety of medicinal 
substances extracted from roots, 
bark, flowers and seeds in the dif- 
ferent species. The South Amer- 
ican genus Xylopia is similarly use- 
ful. 
Family Myristicaceae. Nutmeg 
Family. Consists of the single 
genus Myristica, including about 
80 species, natives of the tropics of 
Fig. 94. 
Californica) shawing fruit and detached flower, 
the former reduced, the latter enlarged one-half. 
Original. 
‘California nutmeg (Umdellularia 
