170 BOTANY. 
a product of Boswellia serrata, a large Indian tree. Balsamodendron myrrha, 
a native of Abyssinia, supplies myrrh; other species yield Bdellium, and 
B. gileadense, Balm of Gilead. 
Orper 157. Anacarptace&, the Cashew-nut Family. Flowers usually 
unisexual. Calyx usually small and persistent, with five, or sometimes 
three, four, or seven divisions. Petals equal in number to the calycine 
divisions, perigynous, sometimes 0; imbricated in estivation. Stamens 
either equal to the petals in number, and alternate with them, or twice as 
many or more; filaments distinct or cohering at the base, usually perigynous. 
Disk fleshy, annular, or cup-shaped, sometimes inconspicuous. Ovary 
single, rarely five or six, free or adhering to the calyx, one-celled; ovule 
solitary, attached by a funiculus to the bottom, or along the side of the cell; 
styles one to three, occasionally four; stigmas one to three or four. Fruit 
usually drupaceous and indehiscent. Seed ascending or frequently 
pendulous, from the adherence of the funiculus to the angle of the cell, 
exalbuminous; radicle inferior or superior, sometimes curved suddenly 
back ; cotyledons thick, fleshy, or leafy. Trees or shrubs, with a resinous, 
often caustic juice, and alternate leaves without dots. The order is a sub- 
division of the Terebinthacex of Jussieu. The plants inhabit chiefly the 
tropical parts of America, Africa, and India; some, however, are found in 
Europe. There are forty-one known genera and ninety-five species. 
Examples: Anacardium, Rhus, Mangifera, Spondias. 
Many species possess a caustic and poisonous juice. Some furnish edible 
fruit. The Cashew-nut is obtained from Anacardium occidentale. The 
Pistacia-nut is the fruit of Pistacia vera, cultivated in the south of Europe. 
P. terebinthus supplies Chian turpentine, and P. lentiscus, the substance 
called mastic. Some species of Rhus, found in the United States, as R. 
toxicodendron, poison oak and poison vine, and R. venenata, known as 
poison or swamp sumach, are much to be dreaded by persons of particular 
constitutions, simple contact in many cases producing severe inflammation 
of the skin. Some (not very well authenticated) instances are on record, 
where simple proximity, with the wind blowing through the plant on an 
individual, has caused the characteristic affection of the skin. Some 
persons are able to handle these poisonous species of Rhus with impunity. 
R. aromatica has highly fragrant leaves. R. typhina, copallina, and glabra, 
are harmless North American species, known as sumachs, whose leaves and 
young shoots, with those of R. coriaria, a European species, furnish the 
tanner’s sumach. Some species of the order supply varnishes. Japan 
Lacquer is the juice of Stagmaria vernicifiua; Sylhet varnish, that of 
Semecarpus anacardium. 
Rhus cotinus, the Smoke tree, Southern Europe (pl. 71, jig. 2); @ a 
flowering branch; 6, a flower magnified ; c, ditto without the petals; d, an 
anther; ¢, 7, fruit. 
Anacardium occidentale, Cashew-nut, West Indies (pl. 71, fig. 1); a, 
branch with flowers and fruit; 4, flower; c, calyx; d, staminal tube; e, 
ditto laid open; f, pistil; g, cross-section of the nut. 
Pistacia terebinthus, Turpentine tree, Mediterranean coast (pl. 71, jig. 3) ; 
170 
