POLYGALACEJE. 81 



detail the characters of the various genera. Since then the limits 

 of this family have scarcely been altered ; and in 1862 Bentham and 

 Hooker in their Genera only added the old genus Moutabea of 

 AuBLET,! formerly connected with the Ebenacece ; Xanthophyllum of 

 Roxburgh,^ whose mode of placentation had hitherto separated it 

 from this group ; CarpoloUa of Don,' long imperfectly known ; and 

 the genus PMelotcenia, then recently established by Geisebach.* By 

 reducing to simple sections several genera preserved by these authors, 

 we find only twelve remaining grouped into three series of which 

 the following are the distinctive characters. 



1. PoLYGALE^. — Flowers irregular. Ovary with two cells or with 

 only one, the posterior abortiag (rarely with three cells). One 

 descendent ovule inserted in the inner angle of each cell. Fruit 

 dry or fleshy. Embryo albuminous or exalbuminous. — 9 genera. 



2. Xakthophtlle^. — Flowers irregular (of Polygala),. Ovary 

 unilocular, with parietal placentas. Ovules 2-oo . Fruit fleshy. 

 Embryo albuminous or exalbuminous. — 1 genus.® 



3. KEAMEEiEiE. — Flowcrs irregular, resupinate. Petals 3, 4, pos- 

 terior. Stamens 3-5 posterior. Ovary unilocular (by abortion), 

 furnished with two large anterior-lateral glands. Single cell (an- 

 terior) with two descendent collateral ovules. Fruit dry, indehiscent, 

 and monospermous. Embryo exalbuminous. — 1 genus. 



Some five hundred species of Polygalacea are reckoned. All those 

 of the Krameria series are American; and all of the genus 

 Xanthophyllum belong to tropical Asia and Oceania. In the 

 Polygalece series, which alone contains about five hundred species, 

 three-fifths are American ; Phlehotcenia and Monnina are exclusively 

 so, while Muraltia and Mundtia^ containing some fifty species, belong 

 to South Africa ; the two known Carpolobias are from tropical western 

 Africa ; Trigoniastrum from Malaysia. The Comesperma proper are 

 all Australian, and the species of the section Bredemeyera are from 

 tropical America. Polygala and Securidaca are common to both 

 worlds, the latter to the warm regions only.^ 



' Chnam. (1775). series, whose characters should then he slightly 



^ PI. Coromand. iii. (1819). modified, the placentation of Moutabea being 



^Ben. Syat. i. (1831). really axile. 



^In Fl. Wright. Cub. (1861). * It -would he useful to study histologically 



5 Or two, if Moutahea is connected with this Vas stems of the ToVygalaeeiB, especially those 



VOl. v. M 



