318 



LIT. AUEANTIACBiE. 



Oxalidees, and Simarulece (see these families). Bentham and Hooker fil. have united with them Dioamea, 

 Am-antiece and Zanthoxyhce (see these families). Rutacea; all belongs to the Old World ; they especially 

 abound in the north temperate hemisphere, the shores of the Mediterranean, and South Siberia ; and they 

 become very rave towards the poles and equator. Bwiininghmisenia iuhabits the Himalayas and Japan. 



SittacecB owe their stimulating properties to a bitter substance, a resinous acrid principle, and 

 especially to a volatile oil, secreted by the glands of the leaves and flowers. The Bne {Ruta graveolens), 

 a native of the Mediterranean region, and cultivated in all gardens, is remarkable for its strong smell and 

 acrid taste, and its essence, obtained by distillation, is employed as a sudorific, vermifuge, and emmen- 

 agogue. Vinegar of Rue was regarded during many centuries as a certain remedy against the plague, 

 The Romans used Rue as a condiment, as do the Germans still. Ruta montnna, which grows in Spain, 

 is so extremely acrid that it produces erysipelas and ulcerous pustules on the skin of those who gather it. 

 Saplophyllum tuberculatum is so much less acrid that the Egyptian women bruise its leaves in water, 

 and use it as a hair-wash. The peduncles and flowers of the European Dittany (^Dictammis albim) are 

 laden with pedicelled glands which secrete an abundant volatile oil so copiously that the plant 

 ignites at the approach of a candle ; its resinous scented and bitter root is tonic and stimulating. Peyanmn 

 Harinala grows in sandy soil iu the Mediterranean region; its smell is repulsive and its taste acrid and 

 bitter ; the Turks use its seeds as a condiment, and obtain a red dye from them. 



LII. AURANTIACEJE. 



(Atjeantioeum sectio, Jussieu. — Hespeeideaeum sectio, Ventenat. — Aueantiacb^, 



Correa.) 



Orange (Citrus Aurantium). 



Orange. Orange. 



Patt of anaroecinm (mag.). Calyx and ovary (mag.). 



