Order 30.— LINAGES. 275 



5 C. M^dica L. Citron Tbbb. Petioles not at aU wmged; 1£ oblong, acute; 

 ttam. 40 ; fr. oblong-spheroid, rugous, with an acid pulp. — Commonly about 8f 

 high. Fr. 6' in length, fragrant, f 



Ob». In n Gplondld work entitled " The Natural History of Oranges," written in French by 

 Risso, of Nice, in 1818, there are described 1G9 varieties, and 105 of them figured. They are 

 arranged as sweet oranges, of which there are described 42 varieties ; bitter and sour oranges, 

 82 ; Bergaoiots, 5 ; Limes, 8 ; Shaddocks, 6 ; Lumes, 12 ; Lemons, 46 ; Citrous, 17. The most 

 sQccefisful methods of cultivation are by cuttings. 



Order XXIX. MELIACEJE. 



Trees or shruhs with exstipulate, often pinnate leaves. Fls. 3 — 6-merou3, stamens 

 6 — 10, coherent into a long tube with sessile anthers. Dish hypogynoua, sometimes 

 cup-like ; style 1. Ovary compound, several-celled, cells 1 — 2, i-ovuled. Fruit 

 fleshy or dry, often l-celled by abortion. Seeds neither winged nor axiUate. 



Genera, 8.3, species 150, natives of the hotter parts of the globe. 



MELIA, L. Pride of India. (Gr. fiiXi, honey ; the name w;is 

 first applied to the Manna Ash.) Sepals small, 5, united ; petals 

 spreading; stamen tube 10-cleft at summit with 10 anthers in the 

 throat ; ovary 5-celled, 10-ovuled ; style deciduous ; drupe with a 

 5-celled, bony nut, cells 1-seedcd. — Trees with bipinnate Ivs. and 

 panicles of delicate flowers. 



M. AzSdarach L. Lvs. deciduous, glabrous, Ifts. obliquely lance-ovate, acuminate, 

 serrate. — Southern States, common. A large tree 30 — 40f high, with light 

 foliage and a profusion of lilac-colored fls. Drupes as large as cherries, with a 

 poisonous pulp, hanging in clusters through the winter. The bark is esteemed as 

 a vermifuge, but narcotic. Dwarfed specimens are frequent in green houses at the 

 North. 



Order XXX. LINAGES. Flaxworts. 



Herbs with entire, simple leaves and no stipules ; with flowers regular, symme- 

 trical, and perfect, 5-(rarely 3 or 4-)merous. Calyx strongly imbricated in the bud, 

 corolla convolute, hypogynous ; stamens definite, hypogynous, alternate with the 

 petals ; styles distinct with capitate stigmas, and each cell of the capsule more or 

 loss divided by a false dissepiment into two 1-seeded compartments. Seeds with 

 little or no albumen, attached to axile placenta;. 



Genera 8, species 90. A very important order in the arts. The Linum has a very tcnacioiis 

 fiber in its bark, which is wrought into thread and cloth, forming the linen of commerce. Sorno 

 species are cathartic, and yield from their seeds a fine mucilage. (Jnly one genus need bo meii- 

 lioned here, viz : — 



LINUM, L. Flax. (Celtic Ilin, a thread ; hence Gr. Xlvov, Eng. linen, 

 flax.) Sepals, petals, stamens and styles 5, the latter rarely 3 ; cap- 

 sules 5-celled; cells nearly divided by a false dissepiment; seeds 10, 

 suspended, mucilaginous. — Herbs with a bark of strong fibers, and sim- 

 ple, sessile lvs. 



* Flowers blue ( — red. No. 7.) Nos. 1, 2 



* Flowers yellow. — Sepals ciliate. Lvs, linear Nos. 8, 4 



— Sepals entire. Lvs. lanceolate Nos. 5, 6, 8 



1 Ii. usitatissimum L. Common Flax. St. branching above ; lvs. alternate, 

 linear-lanceolate, acute ; panicle corymbous ; sep. ovate, acute, 3-veined at the 

 base, membranous on the margin ; petals crenate. — (1) Introduced and some- 

 what naturalized in fields. St. 1 to 2f high, with 3-veined leaves, and many 

 large, handsome, blue flowers. Jn., Jl. — This important plant has been cultivated 

 from remote antiquity (see Gen. xli. 42), for the strong fibers of the bark, which 

 are manufactured into linen. The seeds yield linseed oil, so extensively used in 

 mixing paint, printers' ink, etc. They are also medicinal. § f 



