502 GEOSSULAEIACEjE OE EIBESIACE^ — SAXIFKAGACB^. 



Length of the style 10 inches. 



Breadth of flower when fully' expanded . . 11 ,> 



Number of long sepals .75 



Number of short sepals ....... 20 



Number of petals ........ 25 



Number of stamens ........ 400 



Number of stigmas ........ 15 



The size to which some of the Cactus famDy grow may be illustrated 

 by a specimen of Echinocactus Viznaga, imported into Kew gardens 

 from the mountains of San Luis, Potosi : — 



Weight of the plant ... . . 713 lbs. 



Height from surface of the earth .... 44 f^^*- 



Measured over the top from the ground on each side 10 feet 9 inches. 



Circumference at 1 foot from the ground . . 8 feet 7 inches. 



Number of deep angles or costge .... 44 



' Number of spines ....... 8800 



In Brazil, some epiphytic Cactuses are met with ; and there are some 

 species described by Gardner as attaining a height of thirty feet, with 

 a circumference of three feet. Opuntia cockinellifera, and other species, 

 are infested by the Coccus Cacti, or the cochineal insect, which feeds 

 upon them. The plants are cultivated in what are called nopaleries, 

 for the sake of the insect, the females of which, when dried, consti- 

 tute the cochineal of commerce. 



Order 86. — Geossulaeiace^ or Eibesiace^e, the Gooseberry 

 and Currant Family. (Polypet. Epigyn.) Calyx 4-5 cleft, regular, 

 coloured. Petals minute, perigynous, equal in number to the seg- 

 ments of the calyx, and alternate with them. Stamens 4-5, alternate 

 with the petals, and inserted into the throat of the calyx ; filaments 

 short ; anthers dithecal. Ovary unilocular, adherent to the tube of 

 the calyx ; ovules oo , anatropal, attached to two opposite parietal 

 placentas ; style single, 2-4 cleft. Fruit a l-celled berry, crowned 

 with the remains of the flower. Seeds oo , immersed in pulp, and 

 attached to the placentas by long thread-like funiculi ; spermoderm 

 gelatinous externally; albumen homy; embryo straight, minute; 

 radicle pointing to the hilum. — Shrubs, with alternate lobed leaves, 

 having a plicate vernation. They are natives of temperate regions, 

 and are found in Europe, Asia, and America. Many yield edible 

 fruits, which sometimes contain malic acid. The various khids of 

 Gooseberry (Ribes Grossularia) and Currant {Bibes rubrum and nigrum) 

 belong to this order. The black currant possesses tonic and stimulant 

 properties. On the under surface of its leaves and flowers fragrant 

 glands may be perceived. The order is considered by some as a 

 tribe of Saxifragacese. It contains 2 or 3 genera, and nearly 60 

 species. Example — Kibes. 



Order 87. — Saxifeagace.®, the Saxifrage Family. {Polypet. 

 Perigyn.) Calyx superior, or more or less inferior (fig. 431 c c, p. 

 245) ; sepals usually 5, more or less cohering at the base. Petals 



