EXOGENOUS OR DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 401 



large and showy flowers. Calyx of three to seven coriaceous and 

 concave imbricated sepals. Petals five or more, imbricated in esti- 

 vation. Stamens hypogynous, indefinite, monadelphous or polyadel- 

 phous at the base. Capsule dehiscent, several-celled, usually with a 

 central column. Seeds few in each cell, large, often winged, with ' 

 or without albumen. — The Camellia and the closely related Tea- 

 plant form the type of this family, to which belong our Gordonia 

 and Stuartia. The leaves of Tea contain a peculiar extractive mat- 

 ter, and an ethereal oil ; its moderately stimulant properties are 

 said to become narcotic in very hot climates. 



778. Ord. TcrnstrffiDliaceiB, chiefly tropical, with which the last has 

 been confounded, by its aspect, its commonly polygamous flowers, 

 and more or less gamopetalous coroUa, &c., appears on the whole 

 to be more allied to' the EbenaccEB and Symplocineaa. 



779. Ord, AurantlaceSB {Orange Family). Trees or shrubs, with 

 alternate leaves (compound, or with jointed petioles), destitute of 

 stipules, dotted with pellucid glands full of volatile oil. Flowers 

 fragrant. Calyx short, urceolate or campanulate. Petals three to 

 five. Stamens inserted in a single row upon a hypogynous disk 

 (Fig. 434), often somewhat monadelphous or polyadelphous. Style 

 cylindrical. Fruit a many-celled berry, with a leathery rind, filled 

 with pulp. Seeds without albumen. — Ex. Citrus, the Orange and 

 Lemon. Nearly aU natives of tropical Asia ; now dispersed through- 

 out the warmer regions of the world, and cultivated for their beauty 

 and fragrance, and for their grateful fruit. The acid of the Lemon, 

 Lime, &c. is the citric and the malic. The rind abounds in a vola- 

 tile oil (such as the Oil of Berganiot from C Limetta), and an aro- 

 matic, bitter principle. 



780. Ord. MeliaceS. Trees or shrubs, with alternate, usually com- 

 pound leaves, destitute of stipules. Calyx of three to five sepals. 

 Petals three to five. Stamens twice as many as the petals, mona- 

 delphous, inserted with the petals on the outside of an hypogynous 

 disk ; the anthers included in the tube of filaments. Ovary several- 

 celled, with one or two ovules in each cell : styles and stigmas united 

 into one. Fruit a drupe, berry, or capsule ; the cells one-seeded. 

 Seeds without albumen, wingless. — Ex. Melia Azedarach (Pride of 

 India), naturalized, as an ornamental tree, in the Southern States. 

 An acrid and bitter principle pervades this tropical order. 



781. Ord. CcdrelaCCEE {Mahogany Family). Trees (tropical or 

 Australian), with hard and durable, usually fragrant and beautiful 



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