256 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY. 
shows that it belongs to Eliretiaceee^ and either to Bourreria or 
Crematomiay probably the latter, on account of its Mexican 
origin, the short tube of the corolla, the large imbricated lobes 
of its border, and the stamens tomentose at base : it is a spe- 
cies near C. formosa, from which it appears to differ little. 
The character of the fruit was probably drawn from the drupe 
in an immature state, when the achenia were agglutinated 
together. 
It is described as a tree of middle size, with a scabrid, 
rough trunk, its leaves being 3-4 inches long, upon elongated 
petioles. 
On the Comparative Carpical Structure of the 
Ehretiace^ and Cordiace^. 
Thus far the carpical structure of the Ehretiacece has been 
explained, especially under the typical form of Ehretia ; and 
it will tend to a better comprehension of the subject if I offer 
a few observations upon Cordia^ because a very distinguished 
botanist has proposed to amalgamate Ehretiacew with Cor- 
diaceoe. M. Baillon, in an instructive analysis of the ovary of 
Cordia (Adans. iii. 1, pi. 1), points to the analogy existing in 
the early development of the ovaries of Cordia and Heliotro- 
jnuvi^ and, without sufficient consideration of the subject, he 
pronounces these two genera to be inseparable ; and, as the 
latter has been refeiTed by some to EhretiacecBy he would unite 
the Cordiece^ Ehretiece^ Heliotropiece^ and Borraginece into one 
family {Cordiaceoe). He thus divides it into two groups : — 
1. Borraginece proper. 
2. Cordiacece, subdivided into 
A. Cordieoe, having an embryo with plicated cotyledons. 
B. Heliotropiece^ with simple cotyledons, without albumen. 
C. Tournefortiece^ with simple cotyledons, with albumen. 
But he does not state in which of these he would place the 
Ehretiacece. 
These were the inferences he drew from his examination of 
the ovary of Cordia ferruginea ; and he figured in the drawing 
above quoted the different stages observed from the period of 
the earliest development. He depicts the formation of two 
rudimentary carpels, which, by the inflexion of their margins, 
form a low dome with a unilocular cavity, in the bottom of 
which, intermediate between the four cardinal points, he per- 
ceived the evolution of four ovules, fixed in the base upon as 
many placentary ridges, while between them four septiform 
enlargements emanated from the wall of the cell at those car- 
dinal points, leaving as many shallow fossets in the base 
