IIOMALINE^E. 



645 



biit to each otlier; sometimes they ave collected 

 into a kind of capituhim, upon a receptacle or 

 gynophorum. Each of these carpels is unilo- 

 cular, and contains one, two, or a gTeater num- 

 ber of ovules, the position of which varies 

 greatly. The style is always more or less late- 

 ral, and the stigma simple. The fruit is ex- 

 tremely diversified : sometimes it is a true drupe, 

 sometimes a melonida or an apple ; sometimes 

 one or more akenia, or one or more dehiscent 

 capsules ; or, [lastly, an aggi-egation of small 

 akenia or drupes, forming a capitulum upon a 

 gynophorum which becomes fleshy. The seeds 

 have their embryo monotrope and destitute of 

 endosperm. 



I'his extensive family has been divided into 

 tribes, some of which have been considered as 

 distinct families. 



1. Cheysobalane^, Brown : ovary single, fi-ee, 

 containing two erect ovules; style filiform, 

 arising nearly from the base of the ovary ; 

 flowers more or less iiTegular; fruit drupaceous, 

 as chri/sohalanvs, parinarium, moquilea, &c. 



2. Dhupace^, De Candolle : ovary single, free, 

 containing two collateral ovules ; style filifoi-m, 

 terminal ; flowers regular ; fruit drupaceous, as 

 prunus, amyffdalus, cerasus, &c. 



3. BviTiMAc^jR, Rich : several ovaries, which 

 are free or slightly attached to each other by 

 their inner side, containing two or four collate- 

 ral ovules ; style terminal ; capsules distinct, 

 unilocular; or a single polyspermous capsule, 

 as, spiraea, Tcerria. 



4. FKAGAKiACEiE, Rich : calyx spreading, often 

 furnished with an external calyculus ; several 

 monospermous, indehiscent carpels, sometimes 

 collected upon a fleshy gynophomm ; style more 

 or less lateral, as, potentilla, fragaria, geum, 

 riibtis, dryas, comarum, &c. 



6. Sanguisorbe^, Jussieu : flowers usually 

 polygamous and sometimes destitute of corolla ; 

 one or two carpels, sometimes adherent to the 

 calyx, terminated by a style and a styliform or 

 penicillate stigma, as, poterium, cUffortia, alche- 

 milla, &c. 



6. RosE^, Jussieu : calyx tubular, urceolate, 

 containing a variable number of monospermous 

 carpels attached to the inner wall of the calyx, 

 which becomes fleshy and covers them, as, rosa. 



7. Pomaces, Rich : several unilocular carpels, 

 each containing two ascending ovules, rarely a 

 great number attached to the inner side, united 

 together and with the calyx, and forming a 

 fleshy fruit, known by the name of melonida or 

 apple, as malus, pyrus, cratmgus, sorhus, cydonia, 

 &c. 



The plants of this family are generally astrin- 

 gent. The fruits of several chrysobalanese, 

 which are chiefly tropical, are eaten. Those of 

 the drapaceae, such as the cherry, peach, necta- 

 rine, plum, &c., are well known. The leaves 



and kernels of this tribe yield prussic acid, and 

 some of them are, for this reason, dangerous. 

 The leaves of the sloe and the bird-cheny have 

 been employed as a substitute for tea. The root 

 of spiraea ulmaria, which is highly astringent, 

 has been used as a tonic, and for dyeing black. 

 The fruits of many fragariaceas, as the straw- 

 berry, rasp, and brambles, are in common use. 

 The root of rubits mllosus aff^ords an astringent 

 decoction. Brayera anthelmintliicwn, is a remedy 

 for tape-worm. Agrimonia and poterium are 

 astringent. The fruit of rosa canina, and the 

 petals of rosa'gallica, are astringent, and have 

 been employed in chronic diarrhoea and cases of 

 debility. The fmits of most of the pomacese, as 

 the apple, the pear, the quince, the medlar, are 

 in common use. The numerous varieties of the 

 rose afford highly prized garden flowers. 



HoMALiKE^, Brown. The homalineae are 

 handsome evergreen shrttbs or small trees, all 

 natives of warm countries. Their leaves ai-e 

 alternate, petiolate, simple, furnished with cadu- 

 cous stipules. Their flowers are hermaphrodite, 

 disposed in spikes, racemes, or panicles. Their 

 calyx is monosepalous, having the tube short, 

 conical, and adherent to the ovary, the limb 

 divided into from ten to thirty lobes, of which 

 the outer are larger and valvar, and the inner 

 smaller and petallifonn. The corolla is want- 

 ing. At the inner face, and most commonly 

 towards the base of the inner sepals, are situ- 

 ated glandiilar and sessile appendages. The 

 number of stamina varies : it is sometimes equal 

 'to that of the outer lobes of the calyx, and the 

 stamina are opposite to them ; at other times the 

 stamina are more numerous and collected into 

 bundles. The ovary is generally semi-inferior, 

 with a single cell containing a great number of 

 ovules attached to three or five parietal tropho- 

 sperms. The styles, which are of the same 

 number as the trophosperms, terminate each in 

 a simple stigma. The fruit is sometimes dry, 

 sometimes fleshy. The seeds have their embryo 

 placed in a fleshy endosperm. 



The genera are homalium, napimoga, pineda, 

 hlachwellia, astranthus, nisa, myriantheia, aster- 

 opeia, and aristotelia. Little is known of their 

 properties. 



Samyde^, Ventenat. This family consists of 

 exotic shrubs, growing in the wannest regions 

 of the globe, and bearing alternate, distichous, 

 simple, persistent leaves, commonly marked 

 with . translucid dots, and furnished with two 

 stipules at their base. The flowers are axillar, 

 solitary, or grouped. They have a calyx fonned 

 of five, more rarely of three or seven sepals, 

 united together at their base, and sometimes 

 forming a more or less elongated tube. The 

 limb has more or less deep divisions, coloured 

 on their inner surface. The corolla is always 

 wanting. The stamina are of the same number 



