754 THE SUBDIVISIONS OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



This name of King's Flower was popularly accorded to the plant because, in 1838, 

 King Augustus of Saxony travelled to Carniola on purpose to see this rare species 

 flowering in its restricted habitat. The Lauraceae are principally tropical and sub- 

 tropical plants; Eastern Asia, the Sunda Islands, and Brazil are especially rich in 

 species of this family. The Lauraceae reach their northernmost boundary below 

 50° in Eastern Asia, below 46° in Europe, and below 45° in North America. In the 

 Southern Hemisphere the Lauracese range as far as 43° S. lat. Fossil remains of 

 the Daphnales, especially of Lauraceae, are found in the strata of the Mesozoic and 

 Tertiary Periods. The number of existing species hitherto discovered is about 1400. 



Alliance XXXVIII.— Santalales. 

 Families: SantalacecB, ViscaceoB, Loranthacece, Olacacece, GrubhiaceoB. 



Herbs, shrubs, and trees, of which most are parasitic on the roots and stems of 

 other green-leaved Phanerogams, although they are themselves capable of assimila- 

 tion owing to the presence of chlorophyll in the foliage-leaves. The leaves have 

 entire margins ; there are no stipules. Flowers actinomorphic, solitary or in cymes, 

 which are combined into spikes, racemes, umbels, and capitula; hermaphrodite, 

 pseudo-hermaphrodite, monoecious, and dioecious. Perianth composed of 2- or 3- 

 membered whorls; either sepaloid or petaloid. Gynaeceum 2-3 carpellary; ovary 

 sunk in the discoid or cup-shaped receptacle, inferior or semi-inferior, unilocular. 

 Style single. Ovules 1-5, without integument. Stamens as many or double as 

 many as the perianth-segments; in the former case they are inserted in front of 

 those segments. Fruit usually a berry or drupe. Seed-coat either single or absent ; 

 the embryo either partially or entirely surrounded by fleshy endosperm. 



For a description of the sinkers and haustoria of the parasitic Santalaceae see 

 vol i. p. 177 and pp. 205-213. Several of the Loranthaceae have thin twining stems 

 which put out roots, i.e. sinkers, from their nodes. Such of the Loranthaceae as 

 are destitute of green foliage-leaves have thickened and flat expanded branches. 

 In certain Santalaceae several bracts are united so as to form a cup-shaped 

 involucre. In Grubbiaceae and Olacaceae the lower portion of the ovary is 

 septate, at least in the first stage of development. In the Santalaceae and some 

 Olacaceae 1-5 pendulous ovules are borne upon a cellular structure which is either 

 adnate to the internal wall of the ovary or else rises freely in the cavity; in the 

 Loranthaceaa they completely fill the ovary, and are united with the carpels into a 

 solid mass. In Grubbiaceae the stamens of the outer whorl alternate with the 

 leaves of the perianth, and there are double as many stamens as perianth-segments. 

 The stamens of the Mistletoe (Viseum albiim, see p. 87, fig. 214^^) are adnate to the 

 perianth-leaves behind them, and their anthers have 6-20 loculi, each of which 

 liberates pollen through a pore. The Santalales are widely distributed. The 

 majority of the species are tropical and sub-tropical. The Olacaceae only occur in 

 the tropical parts of South America and Africa, and the Grubbiaceae only at the 

 Cape, whilst the Santalaceae are chiefly natives of Africa and Australia. The 



