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132 
■other inferior, two lateral faces which are more or less convex, and two edges 
more or less acute, which unite them, the one external, the other internal. 
The two valves are woody and touch at the edges, except perhaps at a part of 
their inside where they are separated ; this space is filled by a membrane 
which passes from one to the other : it is either slightly fleshy, or, wdiich is 
more common, extremely thin, thickened in the middle by the passage of the 
vessels of the seed which penetrate it ; and as, after having pierced it, they ' 
are almost immediately inserted into the seed, the latter appears to be actually 
home by the membrane itself. When the fruit is perfectly ripe, the sarcocarp 
of each cell opens from above inwards, following a longitudinal furrow, which 
had become visible some time previously. Its inner surface is seen to be co- 
vered by projecting hgnified vessels, which are directed obliquely from the in- 
ner edge tow’^ards the outer, and are indicated externally by some transverse 
projections. The endocarp is loose in the inside of the shell, unless at its 
membrane, by means of which it continues to preserve some degree of adhe- 
sion with the other parts ; but it soon opens, the two valves separate in difle- 
rent directions, and force out the seeds. WTien this separation takes place, 
the membrane is torn all round, and either falls away or sticks to the seed. In i 
the latter case it is found attached to the hilum, if one seed only has ripened ; i 
but then in removing it, the remains of the abortive o\nile may be found on 
one side. If both seeds have arrived at maturity, they are usually seen one rest- 
ing on the other by their contiguous flattened extremities, and the membrane 
extends along their inner edge, being enlarged at their point of contact, where j 
two transverse prolongations are perceptible.” 
The same author then proceeds to point out the inaccuracy of calhng, with i; 
some, this endocarp an aril — a name which, as Auguste de St. Hilaire some- I 
where remarks, has been applied to as many different things as the Linnean ! 
term nectarium ; or, applying wfith others the same name to the persistent ^ 
membrane. 
Diosmese differ from Rutese not only in the remarkable structure of their 
fmit, but also in having two o\niles in each cell, and exalbuminous seeds ; with | 
Humiriacese they have an analogy through the tribe called Cuspariese, some of , 
which have monadelphous stamens ; with Aurantiacese they agree in their dotted ! 
loaves, definite stamens, occasional production of double embryos, fleshy disk, j 
and sometimes in habit in the tribe of Cuspariese. Xanthoxylaceae and Sima- 
rubacese accord with them in a multitude of points. See fui'ther Aug. de ' 
St. Hilaire FI. Bras. Merid. 1. 94., especially for what concerns the ge- ’ 
nera. , 
Geography. Rutese are found in the south of Europe, whence they ex- i 
tend in our hemisphere as far as the limits of the Old World, following the * 
southern part of the temperate zone, and very rarely advancing within the tro- 
pics. Ad. de J. Of Diosmese, one genus, Dictamnus, is found in the south of 
Europe. The Cape of Good Hope is covered with difierent species of Diosma 
and nearly allied genera ; New Holland abounds in Boronias, Phebahums, 
CoiTeas, Eriostemons, and the like ; great numbers inhabit the equinoctial re- > 
gions of America. 
Properties. Rutese are characterised by their powerful odour and their bit- 
terness ; they act principally on the nerves. Common Rue, and another species, 
are said to be emmenagogue, anthelmintic, and sudorific. The Diosmas, or , 
Bucku plants, of the Cape, are well known for their poweiTul and usually offen- 
sive odour ; they are recommended as antispasmodics. The American species 
possess, in many cases, febrifugal properties. There is an excellent bark of 
this nature, used by the Catalan Capuchin friars of the missions on the river 
Carony in South America, called the Quina de la Guayna, or de la Angos- 
tura, or Angostura bark : this, which has been successively ascribed to Bmcea 
