MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 465 



6. FAMILY. — Bladder-nuts (Staphyleacese). Shrubs ; 



leaves opposite, stipulate ; flowers racemose, 

 terminal, stalked ; sepals five, coloured; petals 

 and stamens five, alternate ; disk large, urceo- 

 late ; ovary 2-3-celled ; ovules usually ascend- 

 ing; styles 2-3, coherent at the base; fruit 

 membranous or fleshy, indehiscent or opening 

 internally ; albumen little or none. Distribu- 

 tion irregular, in Europe, North and South 

 America, the West Indies, India, and Japan. 



7. Family. — Vochysiads (Vochysiacese), Trees or 



shrubs ; leaves opposite, stipulate ; flowers in 

 terminal panicles or racemes; sepals 4-5, 

 unequal ; petals 1-2-3-5, alternate, equal ; 

 stamens 1-5, usually opposite, one having an 

 ovate, fertile, 4-celled anther, and the others 

 barren ; ovary 3-celled ; ovules amphitropal 

 or anatropal ; style and stigma 1 ; fruit cap- 

 sular, triquetrous, 3-celled, 3-valved; embryo 

 straight. Inhabit equinoctial America. (Vo- 

 chyacece, Lindley.) 



8. Family. — Milk-Worts (Polygalacese). Shrubs or 



herbs; leaves alternate or opposite, exstipulate; 

 flowers usually racemose ; pedicels with three 

 bracts ; sepals five, distinct, very irregular ; pe- 

 tals three or five, unequal ; stamens usually 

 eight, monadelphous or diadelphous ; anthers 

 1 -celled, dehiscence by pores ; ovary mostly 

 2-celled ; ovules anatropal ; style and stigma 

 simple ; fruit indehiscent, or with loculicidal 

 dehiscence; seeds carunculate ; albumen abun- 



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