AEAIIACE^ — COENACE^. 509 



approach of the flowering season, occasionally produce a poisonous 

 matter. 



Azorella Selago, s.Ti umbelliferous plant, forms great green cushions 

 in Kerguelen's Island, and seems to take the place of Bolax glebaria, 

 Balsam-bog, an umbellifer of the Falkland Islands. A species of 

 Dichopetalum in Victoria has 5 petaloid sepals. 



Order 91. — Aealiace.s:, the Ivy Family. {Polypet. Epigyn.) 

 Calyx entire or toothed (fig. 340 c, p. 214). Petals definite (fig. 340 p, 

 p. 214), 2, 5, 10, deciduous, occasionally ; aestivation valvate. 

 Stamens as many as the petals, or twice as many, inserted below the 

 margin of an epigynous disk (fig. 340, e e, p. 214). Ovary adherent 

 to the tube of the calyx, 2 or more celled (fig. 340 o, p. 214) ; ovules 

 solitary, pendulous (fig. 340, p. 214), anatropal; styles 2 or more, 

 distinct or connate (fig. 340 s, p. 214) ; stigmas simple. Fruit usually 

 succulent, 2-15-ceU.ed, covered by the calycine limb. Seeds solitary, 

 pendulous, adhering to the endocarp ; albumen fleshy ; embryo small ; 

 radicle pointing to the hilum. — Trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants, 

 with alternate exstipulate leaves, and umbellate (fig. 261, p. 179) or 

 capitate flowers. They are found both in tropical and in cold regions. 

 There are 5 series or sub-orders : — 1. Araliese, petals more or less im- 

 bricated, fixed by a broad base. 2. Mackinlayiesa, petals involute, 

 contracted into a very short claw. 3. Panaceee, petals valvate, 

 stamens equal in number to the petals, albumen uniform. 4. Hederese, 

 petals valvate, stamens and petals isomerous, albumen ruminate. 

 5. PlerandresB, petals valvate or connate, stamens oo , styles 0, or 

 cohering in a cone. Authors enumerate 38 genera, including 340 

 species. Exmnples^-Aialisk, Mackinlaya, Panax, Fatsia, Hedera, Hel- 

 wingia, Plerandra. 



They have generally aromatic and stimulant properties. They are 

 allied to Umbellifer^, but do not possess poisonous qualities in a marked 

 degree, nor does their fruit usually yield volatile oil. A species of Panax 

 yields the famous Ginseng root of the Chinese, which is used as a 

 stimulant. Panax qninquefolium possesses qualities resembling those 

 of ginseng. The celebrated Eice Paper of the Chinese is ascertained 

 to be prepared from the pith of Fatsia papyrifera. Some species of 

 Aralia yield an aromatic gum-resin. Aralia nudicaulis, a native of 

 North America, has fragrant and aromatic roots, which are used as a 

 substitute for sarsaparilla. A. spinosa, called toothache-tree in North 

 America, is a stimulant diaphoretic. Aralia japonica (canescens), 

 racemosa, spinosa, hispida, etc., are commonly grown in drawing-rooms 

 in Britain. The succulent fruit of Hedera Helix, the Ivy, is emetic 

 and purgative. 



Order 92. — Coenace^, the Cornel Family. (Polypet. Epigyn.) 

 Calyx 4-lobed. Petals 4, oblong, broad at the base, regular, inserted 

 into the upper part of the calycine tube ; aestivation valvate. Stamens 



