COMBEETAOEjE — MELASTOMACE^ — ^PHILADELPHACB^. 489 



dithecal, dehiscing longitudinally or by recurved valves. Ovary 

 adherent to the tube of the calyx, unilocular ; ovules 2-4, pendulous ; 

 style 1 ; stigma simple. Fruit succulent or nut-like, inferior, unilo- 

 cular, indehiscent, often winged. Seed solitary, pendulous, exalbu- 

 minous ; cotyledons leafy, usually convolute, sometimes plicate ; radicle 

 turned towards the hUum. — Trees or shrubs, with alternate or opposite, 

 exstipulate, entire leaves. They are natives of the tropical regions of 

 Asia, Africa, and America. The general property of the order is astrin- 

 gency. Many are used for tanning, and some for dyeing. The fruit 

 of Terminalia Belerica, and of T. Ghebula, under the name of Myro- 

 balans, is used as an astringent. The seeds of Terminalia Catappa are 

 eaten like almonds. The order has been divided into three tribes : — 

 1. Terminaliese, petals 0, cotyledons convolute. 2. Combretese, petals 

 present, cotyledons plicate. 3. Gyrocarpese, petals 0, cotyledons con- 

 volute, anthers, dehiscing by recurved valves. There are 15 genera, 

 including 240 species. Examples— Teimiaalia, Combretum, Quisqualis, 

 Gyrocarpus. 



Order 72. — Mblastomace*, the Melastoma Family. (Polypet. 

 Perigyn. or Epigyn.) Calyx with 4, 5, or 6 divisions, which are more 

 or less deep, or are sometimes united and separate from the tube like 

 a lid. Petals equal to the segments of the calyx, perigynous, sssti- 

 vation twisted. Stamens equal in number to the petals and alternate 

 with them, usually with intermediate sterile ones ; filaments curved 

 downwards in the young state ; anthers long, often beaked, bUocular, 

 dehiscing by two terminal pores or longitudinally. Ovary more or 

 less adherent to the calyx, mutUocular ; ovules usually 00 ; style 1 ; 

 stigma simple, either capitate or minute. Fruit multilocular, either 

 capsular, with loculicidal dehiscence, or succulent and indehiscent, 

 with calyx attached. Seeds ao , minute, attached to central placentas, 

 exalbuminous ; embryo straight or curved ; cotyledons sometimes 

 unequal, flat, or convolute. — Trees, shrubs, or herbs, with opposite, 

 imdivided, usually entire, often 3-9-ribbed leaves, not dotted. They 

 are found chiefly in warm climates. Many are natives of America 

 and India. There are no unwholesome plants in the order, and the 

 succulent fruit of several is edible. A slight degree of astringency 

 pervades all the plants of the order, and hence some are used medi- 

 cinally in cases of diarrhoea. The name Melastoma (fisXa,g, black, and 

 aro/ia, mouth) is derived from the circumstance that the fruit of 

 some dyes the lips black. There are two sub-orders : — 1. Melastomese, 

 with ribbed leaves and flat cotyledons. 2. Memecylese, with ribless 

 leaves and convolute cotyledons. Authors notice 134 genera, com- 

 prising 1800 species. Eixamples — Melastoma, Osbeokia, Lasiandra, 

 Bhexia, Lavoisiera, Miconia, Oharianthus, Memecylon, Mouriria. 



Order 73. — Philadelphace^, the Syringa Family. (Polypet. 

 Epigyn.) Calyx with a 4-10-divided, persistent limb. Petals alter- 



