1836.} 



Observations on the, fyc. 



57 



IV.— Observations on the Flora of Court allum.— By Robert "Wight, 

 Esq. m. d. — (continued from Vol. 3d page 96.^ 



VII. — Capparidece* 



This is a large and almost exclusively tropical Order, a few species 

 only being found in the temperate zones, while they every where 

 abound within the tropics. It divides itself into two very distinct 

 sections, the Cleomea, or genera with herbaceous stems and capsular 

 fruit; and the Capparece, with shrubby stems and fleshy fruit. Of this 

 Order, De Candolle describes 230 species ; Wallich in his list of Indian 

 plants has named 42 species, 35 are found in the Peninsula, 14 in Sene- 

 gambia, and 10 in Java. Of the 35 Peninsular species I have 10 from 

 Courtallum. This falls greatly short of the actual number belonging 

 to that Flora, many of the more common ones having been neglected., 



Bearing in mind the characters of the class ( Thalamiflorm ) to which 

 it belongs, species of this order are, usually, readily distinguished by 

 their reniform seeds, and long pedicel of the ovary and fruit. This last 

 mark, however, from not being constant, especially in the herbaceous 

 species, and from being also common to the Passijloras, to which this 

 order is related in some other points of structure, is of less value, as an 

 essential distinguishing character, than the former. Most of the 

 shrubby Capparidece are furnished with rather handsome flowers ; some 

 have them very large. One, a scandent species, I recently found in 

 Ceylon, has the stamens fully three inches long : the rest of the flower 

 being large in proportion, and pure white, forms a very conspicuous 

 object, and, contrasting strongly with the surrounding foliage, can be 

 seen at great distances, decorating the clumps of jungle among which 

 it grows. 



In an economical point of view, this Order is of very secondary im- 

 portance, a few only of its species being held in esteem. The princi- 

 pal of these is the Capparis spinosa, the young flower buds of which, 

 when pickled, afford the well known capers of commerce, an$, I dare 

 say, several of the Indian ones might be similarly employed. The one 

 most nearly allied to the European plant, is our Capparis horrida, but, 

 owing to the buds being usually covered with a rusty coloured down s 

 they might not answer quite so well for pickling. 



Polanesia ( cleome) icosandra, one of the herbaceous forms, is said to 

 be so acrid as to raise blisters, when the bruised leaves are applied to 

 the skin, and the seeds, it is added, are employed like mustard as a con- 

 diment. The leaves of some of the other species are eaten, when 

 stewed, or boiled, like spinach. 



VIII. — Flacourtianeor. 



This is a small Order, most of the species of which are tropical ; two 

 or three, only, are found extending to the Cape of Good Hope, and one 



