THALAMIFLOR^ 



177 



flower serve to attract insects. The 5 imbricate sepals 

 grow along witii the fruit, of which they form the 

 edible part. D. scabrella (fig. 147) and D. aurea 

 are kinds of chalta that grow wild in the forests of 

 E. Bengal and Assam. 



Nat. Order 3. Anonacece. — Trees or shrubs, some- 

 times climbers, with 

 naked buds. Leaves al- 

 ternate, entire, exstipu- 

 late. Flowers with tri- 

 merous perianth. Sepals 

 3, valvate. Petals thick- 

 ish, 6 in 2 whorls, val- 

 vate. Stamens free and 

 close set on an elongated 

 thalamus. Carpels many, 

 free, mostly packed to- 

 gether on the prolonged 

 thalamus, style o. Ovules 

 I or more, anatropous. 

 Fruit of a number of i to 

 many-seeded free indehis- 

 cent carpels; rarely, as in 

 A nana, the carpels are 

 confluent. Seeds large, 

 with ruminated or marbled 

 albumen. 



This is a tropical order, represented by the follow- 

 ing well-known plants, namely, ata or Custard-apple 

 {Anona squamosa), nona or Bastard-apple (Anona 

 reticulata), debdaru {Polyalthia longifolia), and kan- 

 tali-champa {Artabotiys odoratissima), climbing by 

 the help of recurved hooks on the peduncles of the 

 flowers. It has sometimes straight spines also, which 

 are modified branches. The pulpy fruits of ata are 



(0 946) 13 



Figr, T47. — Dillenia scabrella, a kind of 

 wild Chalta 



