344 



MANUAL OP BOTANY 



Fi«. 1107. 



with 2 — 4 ovules ; style and stigma simple. Frmt indehiscent, 

 1-seeded. Seeds pendulous, exalbuminous ; cotyledons leafy, 

 convolute or plaited. 



Distribution and Numbers. — Exclusively natives of the 

 tropical parts of America, Africa, and Asia. Illustrative Genera: 

 Terminalia, Linn. ; Comhretum, Liiffl. There are about 200 

 species. 



Properties and Uses. — The order is chief5y remarkable for 



the presence of an astringent principle ; hence the bark of some 



species, and the fruits and flowers of others, are employed in 



tanning and dyeing. Some yield 



excellent timber. 



Order 138. Myetaoe^e, the 

 Myrtle Order. — Character. — 

 Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite 

 or alternate, entire, exstipulate, usu- 

 allj' dotted, and having a vein run- 

 ning just within their margins. 

 Calyx superior, 4- or 5-clefl, valvate, 

 sometimes separating in the form 

 of a cap. Petals 4 — 5, imbricate, 

 rarely absent. Stamens usually 8 — 

 1 0, or numerous, or rarety 4 — 5 

 filaments distinct or polyadelphous, 

 Ovary inferior, 1 — 6-celled; style 

 and stigma simple; placentas axile, 

 or very rarely parietal. Fruit dry 



or succulent, dehiscent or inde- 

 i^i>. 1107, Flowering branch of the 1 ■ , ry t -ii i. lu ™, 



common Myrtle (i/j(»-««s com- iiiscent. Seeds Without albumen, 



"'""")• usually numerous. 



Division of the Order and 

 Illustrative Genera.~The order may be divided into two tribes 

 as follows : — 



Tribe 1. LeptosiJermee.— Fruit capsular. Illustrative Genera : 



Melaleuca, Leptospermum. 

 Tribe 2. My rtete. —Fruit baccate. Illustrative Genera:— 



Punioa, Liim. ; Myrtus, Tourn. 



Distribution and JVMwSers.— Natives of the tropics and of 

 the warmer parts of the temperate zones. Myrtus communis, 

 the common Myrtle, is the most northern species of the order. 

 This plant, although now naturalised in the South of Europe, 



