318 MANUAL OF BOTANY 



Illustrative Oenera : — Chailletia, DC. ; Stephanopodium, Pdpp. 

 There are about 10 species. 



Properties and Uses. — Unimportant. The fruit of Chail- 

 leiia toxicaria, a native of Sierra Leone, is commonly called 

 Katsbane on account of its poisonous nature. 



Cohort 2. — Olacales. 



Order 102. Olacaoe^, the Olax Order. — Character. — ■ 

 Trees or shrubs, with alternate simple entire exstipulate leaves. 

 Flowers small, regular, axillary. Calyx minute, gamosepalous, 

 generally enlarging so as to cover the fruit ; cestivation imbri- 

 cate. Petals hypogynous, valvate in sestivation. Stamens 

 definite, partly sterile and partly fertile ; the latter opposite to 

 the petals, inserted upon or outside of a conspicuous disc ; 

 anthers 2-celled, bursting longitudinally. Ovary free, often 

 imbedded in the disc ; ovules suspended from a free central 

 placenta. Fruit drupaceous. Seed without integuments, soli- 

 tary ; embryo minute ; albumen fleshy. 



Distribution and Numbers. — Natives of tropical or sub- 

 tropical regions. Illustrative Oenera : — Olax, Linn. ; Liriosma, 

 Pdpp. The number of species is doubtful. 



Properties amd Uses. — Some have fragrant flowers. The 

 fruit of Ximenia americana is eaten in Senegal. The leaves of 

 Olax zeylanica are used by the Cingalese in their curries, &c., 

 and the wood in putrid fevers. The wood of Heisteria coccinea 

 is considered by some to furnish the Partridge-wood of cabinet- 

 makers. 



Order 103. Ioacinace,e:, the Icacina Order. — Diagnosis. — 

 This is an order of plants consisting of evergreen trees and shrubs, 

 and formerly included in the order Olacacese ; but, as shown 

 by Miers, they are clearly distinguished from that order, as 

 follows : ' They differ most essentially in the calyx being 

 always small, persistent, and unchanged, and never increasing 

 with the growth of the fruit ; the stamens being always alternate 

 with the petals, not opposite ; the petals and stamens are never 

 fixed on the margin of the conspicuous cup-shaped disc ; the 

 ova rij is normally plurilocular with axile placentation, and when 

 unilocular, this happens only from the abortion of the other 

 cells, the traces of which are always discernible, never com- 

 pletely unilocular at the summit, and plurilocular at base, with 

 free central placentation. In Icacinaces the ovules are sus- 

 pended below the summit of the cell in pairs superimposed by 



