PHYTOLACCA 
528 
regular; P 5, A 10 — 20, G 7 — 10 or (7—10); in the latter case 
the fruit is a berry, in the former an aggregate of achenes or 
drupes. 
Phytolaccaceae. Dicotyledons (Archichl. Centrospermae). 20 gen. 
with 55 sp. chiefly trop. Am. and S. Afr. Herbs, shrubs, or 
trees, with racemose or cymose infls. of regular inconspicuous 2 firs. 
P 4 — 5, A 4 — 5 or more (to 00), G 1 — 00 or (1 — 00). Ovules 1 in 
each cpl., am phi- or campylo-tropous. Drupe or nut, rarely capsule. 
Seed with perisperm, often arillate. The firs, exhibit great variety 
in structure, owing to branching of sta. and different numbers and 
arrangements of cpls. (see Nat . PJl .). Chief genera: Seguiera, 
Rivina, Phytolacca. Placed in Curvembryae by Benth.- Hooker and 
Warming. For relationships see Caryophyllaceae. 
Picea Link. Synonymy : P. vulgaris Link (Pinus A dies L .) = P. ex- 
celsa Link ; P. canadensis Link = 7 ’suga canadensis ; P. Pinsapo Loud. 
— Abies Pinsapo ; P. rubra A. Dietr. =P. nigra Link. 
Coniferae (Arauc. 1 b; see C. for genus characters). 12 sp. N. 
temp. Long shoots only with needle leaves. Firs, single. Cones 
ripening in one year. P. excelsa is the Norway spruce or spruce-fir, 
found in Eur. from the Pyrenees to 68° N. It furnishes valuable 
wood, resin, and turpentine. P. alba Link (silver fir, N. Am.) and 
others are also valuable. 
Picris Linn. Compositae (xm). 36 sp. Medit., N. temp., Abyss. 2 in 
Brit. Like Leontodon. 
Pilea Lindl. Urticaceae (2). 100 sp. trop., several cultivated under 
the name artillery plant, given to them on account of the little smoke- 
like puffs of pollen ejected by the exploding sta. (cf. Urtica). 
Pilocarpus Vahl. Rutaceae (v). 12 sp. trop. Am., W. Ind. The 
leaves of P. pennatifolius Lem. are the officinal ‘ folia Jaborandi.’ 
Pilocereus Lem. = Cereus Mill. 
Pilostyles Guill. Rafflesiaceae. 8 sp., esp. trop. Am. Parasites on 
Leguminosae. 
Filularia Linn. Marsiliaceae. 6 sp. N. and S. temp. P. globulifera 
L., the pill-wort, is found on the margins of lakes in Brit. There is 
a creeping rhizome bearing roots on the lower surface and linear erect 
leaves on the upper. The sporocarp is a pea-shaped structure, borne 
on the ventral side of a leaf-stalk. It has a hard outer coat and con- 
sists of four sori, each containing both micro- and mega-sporangia. 
The life history is like that of Marsilia. 
Pimelea Banks et Soland. Thymelaeaceae. 80 sp. Austr., Tasm., 
N. Z., Timor. The firs, are in heads and are, in some sp. at least, 
protandrous with movement of sta. outwards. 
Pimenta Lindl. Myrtaceae (1). 5 sp. trop. Am. The unripe fruits of 
P. officinalis Lindl., rapidly dried, form allspice. 
Fimpinella (Riv.) Linn. Umbelliferae (5). 75 sp. cosmop. (exc. 
Austr.). 2 in Brit. ; P. Saxifraga L. (burnet-saxifrage) is very 
