130 BOTANY. 
amplexicaul at the base. They are allied to Ericacez, and seem to occupy — 
the place of heaths in Australia. They are distinguished from heaths by 
the structure of their anthers. They are cultivated for the beauty of their 
flowers. In some cases they yield edible fruits. One of the plants called 
Native Currant in Australia is Leucopogon richei. The order has been 
divided into two sections: 1. Epacree, polyspermous. 2. Styphelice, 
monospermous. There are 30 known genera and 320 species, according 
to Lindley. Examples: Epacris, Sprengelia, Styphelia, Leucopogon, 
Lissanthe. | 
Orper 109. Vacciniacea, the Cranberry Family. Calyx superior, entire, 
four- to six-lobed. Corolla monopetalous, four- to six-lobed; estivation 
imbricated. Stamens distinct, eight to twelve, inserted into an epigynous - 
disk; anthers bilocular, with two horn-like cells, dehiscing by pores. 
Ovary inferior, four- or five-celled; ovules 00; style simple; stigma simple. 
Fruit succulent, crowned by the persistent limb of the calyx. Seeds one or 
many in each cell, minute ; embryo straight, in the axis of fleshy albumen ; 
cotyledons very short; radicle long, inferior. Shrubby plants, with 
alternate, undivided, exstipulate leaves. They are closely allied to 
Ericacee, and differ from that order chiefly in their adherent (inferior) 
ovary. They are natives of temperate regions, and some of them are marsh 
plants. Some are astringent, others yield sub-acid edible fruits. Cranberries 
are produced by Vaccinium oxycoccus (Oxycoccus palustris of some 
authors) and V. macrocarpum. Examples: Vaccinium, Gaylussaccia, 
Chiogenes. The American Huckleberries, Bilberries, Deerberries, &c., are 
furnished by various species of Vaccinium, and of Gaylussaccia. 
Orperx 110. Ericaczaz, the Heath Family. Calyx, four- or five-cleft, 
nearly equal, persistertt. Corolla inserted at the base of the calyx, or 
hypogynous, monopetalous, four- or five-cleft, sometimes tetra- or pentape- 
talous, regular or irregular, often marcescent; estivation imbricated. 
Stamens definite, equal in number to the segments of the corolla, or twice 
as many, inserted with the corolla, and either free from it or attached to its 
base; anthers two-celled; cells hard and dry, bifid, usually having 
appendages at the base or apex, dehiscing by apicilar pores or clefts. 
Ovary free, surrounded at the base by a disk or scales, plurilocular ; ovules 
00, attached to a central placenta; style one, straight ; stigma one, undivided 
or toothed. Fruit capsular or baccate, many-celled, with loculicidal or 
septicidal dehiscence. Seeds 00, minute; embryo cylindrical, in the axis 
of fleshy albumen; radicle next the hilum. Shrubs, undershrubs, or 
herbaceous plants, with evergreen, often rigid, entire, verticillate, or opposite, 
exstipulate leaves. The order contains many beautiful and showy plants, 
which abound at the Cape of Good Hope, and which are also found in 
Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The order has been divided 
into the following sub-orders : , 
Sub-order 1. Ericinee@. Calyx free from the ovary. Corolla monope- 
talous, or rarely nearly or entirely polypetalous. Seed-coat close and thin, 
rarely loose and cellular. Tribe 1. Salaridee. Corolla persistent ; cells 
one-ovuled ; anthers unarmed; buds naked. Example: Salaxis. Tribe 2. 
130 
