BOTANY. 191 
the sepals alternate with the stamens, when isostemonous, instead of 
opposite, as in the restricted Alsinew. Some plants of the order are 
poisonous. A prominent species is Dianthus caryophyllus, or Carnation, in 
its different varieties. 
Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation (p/. 68, fig. 11); a, 6. 
Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort (p/. 68, fig. 12); a, a flowering branch : 
b, pistil and petal; ¢, pistil; d, capsule; e-g, seed. 
Orper 198. Exatinaces, the Water-pepper Family. Sepals three to 
five, free, or slightly coherent at the base. Petals alternate with the sepals, 
hypogynous. Stamens hypogynous, equal to, or twice as many as, the 
petals. Ovary tri-quinquelocular; styles three to five; stigmas capitate. 
Fruit capsular, three- to five-celled, three- to five-valved, loculicidal : 
placenta central. Seeds 00, exalbuminous, anatropal; embryo cylindrical 
and slightly curved. Annual marsh plants, with hollow creeping stems, 
and opposite stipulate leaves. They are found in all parts of the globe. 
Some of them have acridity, and hence the name Water-pepper. Genera 
six and species twenty-two, according to Lindley. Examples: *Elatine, 
Bergia. * Elatine with two species are North American. 
Orver 199. FRanKENIACEs, the Frankenia Family. Sepals four or five, 
cohering into a tube, persistent. Petals four to five, alternate with the 
sepals, hypogynous. Stamens hypogynous, equal in number to the petals, 
and alternate with them, sometimes more numerous; anthers bilocular, with 
longitudinal dehiscence. Ovary unilocular, with parietal placentas; style 
filiform, often trifid. Fruit a one-celled, usually three-valved capsule, with 
septicidal dehiscence. Seeds very minute, numerous, anatropal; embryo 
straight, in the axis of fleshy albumen. Herbs or undershrubs, with opposite, 
exstipulate leaves. They are found chiefly in the southern parts of Europe, 
in western America, and in the north of Europe. They are said to have 
mucilaginous and slightly aromatic properties. Genera four, species twenty- 
four. Example: *Frankenia. F. grandifolia, a Californian plant, is North 
American. 
Orver 200. Tamaricaces, the Tamarisk Family. Calyx four- or five- 
partite, persistent, with imbricated estivation. Petals four to five, 
hypogynous, or perhaps inserted at the base of the calyx, marcescent, with 
imbricated eestivation. Stamens hypogynous, free, or monadelphous, equal 
to the petals in number, or twice as many; anthers dithecal, introrse, with 
longitudinal dehiscence. Ovary unilocular; styles three. Fruit a three- 
valved, one-celled capsule, with loculicidal dehiscence. Seeds numerons, 
anatropal, erect or ascending, comose; albumen 0; embryo straight, with 
the radicle next the hilum. Shrubs or herbs, with alternate scale-like 
leaves, and racemose or spiked flowers. They abound in the Mediterranean 
region, and are confined chiefly to the eastern half of the northern 
hemisphere. Many are found in the vicinity of the sea. They have a 
bitter astringent bark, and some of them yield a quantity of sulphate of 
soda when burned. The saccharine substance called Mount Sinai Manna 
is yielded by Tamarix mannifera. Lindley mentions three genera, com- 
prising forty-three known species. Examples: Tamarix, Myricaria. 
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