31 
hard ; embryo erect, about one half the length of the albumen ; radicle taper ; cotyledons 
lanceolate, plano-convex. — Scrambling, climbing shrubs, with tumid separable joints. Leaves 
■with stipules at the base, the lower opposite, the upper alternate, simple or compound. 
Peduncles racemose, sometimes by abortion changing to tendrils often opposite the leaves. 
Flowers small green. 
Affinities. If Vitis is compared with Aralia racemosa, the close rela- 
tionship of this order to Umbellales will be too obvious to be mistaken. Sup- 
pose that Aralia racemosa had an inferior calyx, erect ovules, with stamens 
opposite the petals, and it would be a Vitis. A remarkable character in Umbel- 
liferae is their petals turned inwards at the points ; this occurs also in Ampelopsis 
quinquefolia ; in foliation there is no material difference between them, and 
even a trace of similarity between the sensible properties of Vitacese and 
Umbelliferae may be perceived in the acrid berries of some species of Cissus. 
The propriety of placing Leea along with Vitaceee has been questioned, and thet 
plant has either been referred absolutely to Meliaceae, or erected into a distinct 
order, as by von Martins. Adrien de Jussieu has, however, in his Dissertation 
upon Meliaceae, satisfactorily shewn (p. 33) that the genus ought not to be 
divided from Vitaceae. The tumid joints, which separate from each other by 
an articulation, along with the many other points of agreement in their fructi- 
fication, approximate the order to Geraniaceae ; the habit and inflorescence to 
Caprifoliaceae, through Hedera. The tendrils of the order are the branches of 
inflorescence, the flowers of which are abortive. A singular variety of Vitis 
vinifera, with capsular fruit and loculicidal dehiscence, is described in the 
Linncea, 5. 493. 
Geography. Inhabitants of woods in the milder and hotter parts of both 
hemispheres, especially in the East Indies. 
Properties. Acid leaves, and a fruit like that of the common grape, is 
the usual character of the order. The sap or tears of the vine are a popular 
remedy in France for chronic ophthalmia, but they are of little value. The 
leaves, on account of their astringency, are sometimes used in diarrhoea. But 
the dried fruit and wine are the really important products of the grape ; pro- 
ducts which are, however, yielded by no other of the order, if we except the 
Fox-grapes of North America, which scarcely deserve to be excepted. ITie 
acid of the grape is chiefly the tartaric ; malic acid, however, exists in them. 
The sugar contained in grapes differs slightly from common sugar in composi- 
tion, containing a smaller quantity of carbon. Turner, 682. The leaves of 
Cissus cordata and C. setosa are described as being acrid and useful in bring- 
ing indolent tumours to suppuration. The berries of the latter are also acrid, 
as indeed are those of some other species. Royle, 8^c. 
GENERA. 
Cissus, L. Vitis, L. Leea, L. ? Geruma, Forsk. 
Soelanthus, Forsk. Pterisanthes, Bl. Aquilicia, L. 
Ampelopsis, Mich. Ottilis, Gsertn. 
Order XVIII. PITTOSPORACE^. 
PiTTOSPORE-ffi, R.Brown in Flinder’s Voyage, 2. 542. (1814) ; DC. Prodr. 1. 345. 
(1824) ; Ach. Rich, in Diet. Class 13. 643. (1828). 
Essential Character. — Sepals 5, deciduous, either distinct or partially cohering ; 
cBstivation imbricated. Petals 5, hypogynous, sometimes slightly cohering ; (estivation im- 
bricated. Stamens 5, hypogynous, distinct, alternate with the petals. Ovary single, dis- 
tinct, with the cells or the placentae 2 or 5 in number, and many-seeded ; style 1 ; stigmas 
