CLXXVII. NTCTAGINEiE. 



627 



Mil dbilis. Diagram. 



Mirabilis. Androecimn. 



Pisonia. Fruit. 



Pisoma acnkaia. 

 Fruit cut transversely (mag.). 



diclinous {Pisonia), axillary or terminal, -solitary or aggregated, rarely in a simple 

 spike, umbel, cyme or panicle ; floral hrads 6, sometimes ovate or lanceolate, free 

 or united, often forming a calyciform much dilated coloured involucre larger than 

 the flowers; sometimes 1-3, minute; involucre calyciform, herbaceous, sometimes 

 monophyllous, 3-5-toothed, 1-5-flowered, and often enlarged after flowering ; some- 

 times polyphyllous, many-flowered. Perianth petaloid, tubular or tubular-cam- 

 panulate or infundibuliform, variously coloured ; the lower part of the tube hardest, 

 sometimes striate, always persistent, enveloping the fruit and accrescent, the upper 

 part resembling a corolla ; limb membranous, folded in aestivation, rarely marcescent, 

 usually falling after flowering. Stamens hypogynous, fewer or more than the 

 divisions of the perianth, 8-30, rarely equal in number, sometimes unilateral ; fila- 

 ments filiform, often unequal, inchided or exserted, inflexed in aestivation, free, or 

 coherent at the base, sometimes even adnate below to the perianth- tube ; anthers 

 introrse, 2-celled, globose, dehiscence longitudinal; pollen of globose large granules. 

 OvAET free, sessile or sub-stipitate, 1-carpelled, 1-celled ; style terminal or sub-lateral, 

 simple, involute in aestivation ; stigma simple, pointed or globose, straight or coiled, 

 sometimes branched or penicillate, multifid ; ovule solitary, erect, sessile, micropyle 

 inferior. Achene membranous, included in the hardened tube of the perianth. 

 Seed erect, testa adherent to the endocarp. Embeto usually curved or folded, rarely 

 straight {Pisonia) ; cotyledons foliaceous, enveloping a farinaceous albumen, or coiled 

 upon themselves, and scarcely separated by a mucilaginous albumen {Vieillardia) ; 

 radicle inferior. 



[The following is Choisy's arrangement of the genera in De CandoUe's 

 ' Prodromus ' : — 



Teibe I. M'lEABiLEiE. — Involucre calyciform, 1- or many -leaved. ^Mirabilis, Quamodidion, 

 *Oxy'b(vphtis, Ahronia, AcleisantJies, Pentacrophys, &a. 



Teibe II. Bitginvillej]. — Involucre bract-like; bracts large, dilated. *Buginvillea 

 (Bougainvillea'), Tricycla, ? GepJialotomand/ra. 



Teibe III. BoEEHAAViEJi. Balpimitlius, Pisonia, Neea, Vieillardia, Boerhaavia, — Ed.] 



