37fi NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



This family is also formed "by cotmection," and such very nearly, in 

 the preceding account, as it was conceived by Bltjme,^ in 1847. He 

 united together, in fact: 1st. Sapindacece properly speaking, divided 

 into seven tribes,^ with flowers, some regular and others irregular ; 

 2nd. Dodoneacece ; 3rd. Acerinece ; 4th. Hippocastanece ; 5th. Me- 

 liosmece [Sabice). In this group then are confounded the two 

 families which had, in 1789, been distinguished by A. L. de Jussietj ^ 

 under the names of Sapindi and Acer a, but to which unfortunately he 

 allied some Malpighiacece as Tryallis^ some Celastracece as Hippocratece, 

 and some Temstroemiacece as PeJcea; whilst Dodoncea was classed 

 among Terebinthacece ^ and Staphylea among the Rhanini. In 1821, 

 KuNTH * divided the Sapindacece of equinoctial America into three 

 sections : PaulUniacece^ Sapindacece proper and Dodoneacece, distinguish, 

 ing them from one another by the presence or absence of a scale 

 interior to the petals. Db Candollb^ preserved in 1824 this mode 

 of grouping which has absolutely no value, even for separating the 

 genera. Cambessedes,^ who resumed in 1829 the monographic study 

 of the Sapindacece, only divided them into Sapindece and Dodonece, in 

 which he was closely followed by Endlichee''' in 1838,andbyLiNDLEY,® 

 whose Sapindaceai,C!am.^iis,Q all the groups admitted by Blume, except 

 Acereoe. The Stapfiylece, long included amongst Celastracece, were 

 finally separated by Bartling ^ and Lindley,i° but as a distinct order, 

 and remained such until the epoch when Bentham and Hookee ^^ 

 made them only a tribe of Sapindacece. With them, this family con-' 

 tains five sub-orders : Sapindece, Acerinece.^ Dodonece, Melianthece, and 

 Staphylece. The Melianthece had, before them,^^ been approached, in 

 preference, to the Rutacece and Zygophyllece. In this family, such as 

 they understand it, are united seventy-four genera,^^ and they exclude, 

 as a distinct family,^* the Sabiacece, formerly classed in England ^^ 

 between Menispermacece and Lardizabalece and previously placed by 



1 Eumphia, iii. 91. » Old. Nat. 381. 



2 1. Sapindese ; 2. AUophylleae ; 3. Meli- "> Synops. (1829) 75 ; Veg. Kingd. 381, Ord. 

 coooesB ; 4. Cupanieee ; 5. Cossigniese ; 6. Paul- 135. 



linieae ; 7. Thouinieffi. " Gen. (1862) 392, 409, Subord. 5. 



' Gen. 246, 250, Ord. 5, 6. >2 x. Juss. in Mem. Mm. xii. 459.— Endl. 



* H. B. K. Gen. Nov. et Spec. v. 99. Gen. n. 6043.— IjIndl. Veg. Kingd. 478. 



■' Prodr. i. 601. 13 Reduced for ua to sixty-two. 



« Mem. Mtis. xviii. (1829), i. » Gen. 413, Ord. 52. 



^ Gen. 1066, Ord. 230. « Hook. r. & Thoms, Fl. Ind. i. 206 



8 Veg. Kingd. (1846) 381, Ord. 13'5. 



