EVPHORBIAOE^. 147 



dioecious, 3-5-meroTis flowers, the males disposed in spikes of 

 glomerules, the females in spikes provided with an hypogynous 

 urceolate disk.' Hymenocardia^ from tropical Asia and Africa, having 

 male flowers in simple spikes, a calyx with valvate or but slightly 

 imbricated divisions, and a bilocular fruit, surmounted by two large 

 wings, which correspond to the backs of the cells, and form a 

 samara. Baccaurea, which grows in tropical Africa, Asia, and Oceania, 

 has an indehiscent fruit, the seeds provided with a fleshy arU ; the an- 

 droceum is isostemonous, or diplostemonous, with a verticil of stamens, 

 one or more of which may be deduplicate. Uapaca, inhabiting conti- 

 nental and insular tropical Africa, having male flowers analogous to 

 those of Securinega and Baccaurea^ isostemonous, all collected, at the 

 summit of a common peduncle, iu a ball enveloped by a calyciform in- 

 volucre ; the fruit is trimerous, fleshy or suberous. Bischoffia, composed 

 of trees from tropical Asia and Oceania, with male flowers very 

 analogous to Hymenocardia^ but collected in very ramifled clusters, 

 without disk, an indehiscent fruit, almost entirely fleshy, distin- 

 guished above all by its compound-trifoliolate leaves, analogous 

 to those of certain Araliaceee and TerebinihacecB. The Piranheas, 

 natives of Brazil, also with trifoliolate leaves, but an indefinite 

 number of stamens in the male flower, replaced in the female flower 

 by some hypogynous tongues, the rudimentary gynseceum repre- 

 sented by a rather large number of glandular lobes, extending to 

 the space at the foot of the stamens. Freireodendron, a Brazilian 

 tree, having, it is said, the stamens inserted round a central disk- 

 shaped body, the exterior five superposed to the sepals, and whose 

 drupaceous fruit is, like the ovary, unilocular. Drypetes, whose ovary 

 has one, two or three cells, like Antidesma, and whose fruit always 

 becomes indehiscent. The stamens are sometimes definite and 

 sometimes indefinite in number, and inserted round a central body 

 of variable dimensions, described sometimes as a disk and sometimes 

 as a rudimentary gynseceum. They belong to all tropical countries. 

 The Putranjivas (fig. 244-247) are referred to another tribe and 



1 We are unable to definitely fix the place of large imbricated foliaceous calyx, and a. con- 

 the Dissiliarias, whose female flower is alone tinuous oupula-shaped disk, surrounding the 

 known, but whose fruit nearly resembles that base of the ovary. The two species at present 

 of the Michenas, tri- and tetracoccous, with known are Australian. Their leaves are gene- 

 opposite leaves, which gives them the ap- rally opposite, 

 pearance of certain £aloghia {Codicsum), a 



