1 7*2 Podostemacea* 



Martius, guided by the simple nature of their vegetative 

 organs, by the character of their spathe, and the sudden 

 emersion of the pedicel at the time of flowering, considers 

 them to form a transition from Niades to Juncaginacece, 

 touching upon Aracece, and as being a kind of noble analo- 

 gy of Hepatica among monocotyledons. Griffith considers 

 Podostemon to be more closely allied to Pistiacece than to 

 any other known order. 



Lindley was the first to consider the order a truly dicoty- 

 ledonous one, and to give it a much higher rank in the 

 natural system than it had previously occupied, placing it in 

 the Achlamydeous group of his sub-class Incompletes > along 

 with Piperacece and Monimiacece. This was not done, how- 

 ever, without observing that, from the fact of there being a 

 decided perianth in the genus Philocrene, Bong. ( Tristicha, 

 Thouars), they were still perhaps too low in the scale, and 

 ought rather to be placed in the Rectembryose group, near 

 Lacistemacece. In the skeleton of a new arrangement which 

 he has given in his ' Elements of Botany,' the order holds 

 much the same position as it does in the second edition 

 of his * Introduction to the natural system,' being placed in 

 the dissolved series of the class Homogens. 



Endlicher has no original views regarding the affinities of 

 the order, and I am not aware that any other exist among 

 the writings of Botanists, than those I have mentioned. The 

 view which Lindley has taken, is certainly more satisfactory 

 than any other which has yet been offered ; but a somewhat 

 attentive examination and consideration of these plants, has 

 convinced me, that they have other and nearer relations than 

 those he has alluded to. In balancing the affinities of plants, 

 great weight should be given to the organs of vegetation ; 

 but in the present case, as in a few others, the organs of re- 

 production, must be entirely depended on in our calculations. 

 Taking these as our guide, I shall briefly glance at what 

 I conceive to be the natural position of the order. 



