POLYGALE^. 



635 



embryo having its cotyledons spirally twisted, 

 as : koh-euteria, dodono-a, &c. 



The fraits of several species are eaten ; but 

 the leaves of many are poisonons. The fruit of 

 sapindus saponaria is soapy, as its name implies, 

 and used for washing linen. 



PoLYGALEJ!, Jussieu. This^' family consists 

 of herbaceous plants or shrubs, with alternate, 

 simple, entire leaves, and sclitary, axillar, or 

 spiked flowers. The flowers are composed of a 

 calyx of four or five sepals laterally imbricated 

 previous to their expansion, and of which two, 

 sometimes more internal, are petaloid and 

 coloured. The corolla is formed of from two 

 to five petals, sometimes distinct, sometimes 

 united together by means of the filaments of the 

 stamina, which form a tube split on one side. 

 The stamina, which are generally eight in num- 

 ber, are monadelplious. Their androphorum is 

 divided above into two phlannges, each bearing 

 four unilocular anthers, generally opening at the 

 tip. More rarely, the stamina are from two to 

 four, and free. The ovary is sometimes accom- 

 panied, at its base, by a hypogynous and unila- 

 teral disk, or formed of two lateral and lamellar 

 appendages. It has two, more rarely one or 

 three cells, each containing one or two ovules. 

 The style is long, usually curved, and bearing a 

 hollow, two-lobed, or unilateral stigma. The 

 fruit is a capsule or a di-npe. In the former 

 case, it has two one-seeded cells, and opens into 

 two septiferous valves. In the latter case, it is uni- 

 locular, one-seeded, and indehiscent. Tl^e seeds 

 are pendant, generally accompanied by a kind 

 of caruncle or arillus of diversified form. Tlieir 

 embryo is sometimes placed in a fleshy endo- 

 sperm, and sometimes destitute of endosj>erm . 



The genera are, polypala, salomonia, com- 

 spcrma, hadiera, soulamea, hrameria, &c. 



The root of polt/gala senega is stimulant, 

 diuretic, diaphoretic, and purgative. Extract of 

 ratanhia, the root of hrameria, is used to adul- 

 terate or improve port wine. The roots of the 

 plants of this family are generally bitter and 

 more or less astringent. 



Tkemandre^, Brown. This little family, 

 which is formed of the two genera tremandra 

 and tetratheca, is composed of shrubs having the 

 general appearance of heaths, all natives of New 

 Holland, bearing alternate or verticillate leaves, 

 without stipules, simple or toothed, and often 

 furnished with glandular hairs. The flowers are 

 axillar and solitary. The calyx is composed of 

 four or five unequal sepals, placed close together 

 in the form of valves, previous to the expansion 

 of the flower, and caducous. The corolla is com- 

 posed of four or five equal petals, alternate with 

 the sepals, and longer than the stamina. The 

 stamina, eight or ten in number, are placed in 

 pairs opposite the petals. Their anthers, which 

 have two or four cells open at their summit by 



a small hole or a kind of tube. Tlie ovary is 

 ovoidal, compressed, with two cells, each con- 

 taining two or three pendant ovules. The style 

 is terminated by one or two stigmas ; and the 

 fruit is a compressed bilocular capsule, opening 

 by two valves, which are septiferous in (he 

 middle. The seeds, which are inserted at the 

 upper part of the dissepiment, are terminated 

 by a carunculate appendage. The embryo is 

 erect in a fleshy endosperm. 



There are only seven species natives of New 

 Holland. 



FuMARiACE^, De Candol'le. The fumariacea; 

 are all herbaceous plants, destitute of milky 

 juice, and furnished with alternate compound 

 leaves, having a great number of narrow seg- 

 ments. The flowers are rather small, and gene- 

 rally disposed in terminal spikes. Their calyx ia 

 composed of two very small, opposite, flat, ami 

 caducous sepals. The corolla is irregular, tu- 

 bular, formed of four unequal petals, sometimes 

 slightly united together at their base. The 

 upper petal, which is the largest, is tei-minated, 

 at its lower part, by a short, curved spur. The 

 stamina, six in number, are diadelphous, or form 

 two androphora, each of which carries at its 

 summit three anthers, the middle anther two- 

 celled, the others one-celled. The ovary is uni- 

 locular, and contains four or a great number of 

 ovules attached to two longitudinal tropho- 

 sperms, corresponding to each suture. The 

 style is short, surmounted by a depressed stig- 

 ma. The fruit is sometimes a globular akenium, 

 monospermous through abortion, sometimes a 

 many-seeded, two valved, occasionally vesicular 

 capsule. The seeds are globular, furnished with 

 H caruncula, and containing, in a fleshy endo- 

 sperm, a small, somewhat lateral, sometimes 

 curved and transverse embryo. 



This famil^r, composed of the genus fumaria 

 and the genera formed of its different species, as 

 corydalis, dicli/tra, cysticapnos, is distinguished 

 from the papaveraceae by the absence of milky 

 juice, the irregular corolla,. and the six diadel- 

 phous stamina. 



This family does not contain any noxious 

 plants, but otherwise they are of little impor- 

 tance. 



Papaverace^.. Herbaceous, or more rarely 

 sufiFrutescent plants, with alternate leaves, which 

 are simple or more or less deeply cut, generally 

 abounding in a white or yellowish milky juice. 

 The flowers are solitary, or disposed in cymes 

 or branched racemes. The calyx is formed of two, 

 very rarely three concave, very caducous sepals. 

 The corolla, which is sometimes wanting, is 

 composed of foxir, very rarely of six flat petals, 

 which are plaited and puckered previous to their 

 expansion. The stamina, which are very numer- 

 ous, are free. The ovary is ovoidal or globular, 

 or narrow and approaching to linear, one-celled, 



