249 
Order CXXXIX. STELLATE, 1 
or > The Madder Tribe. 
GALIACE.E. J 
RuBiACEiE, Sect. I. Juss. Gen. 196. (1789). — Stellate, Ray Synops. 223. (1690); R. 
Brown in Congo, (1818) ; Lindl. Synops. 128. (1829). — Galie^e, Turp. in Atlas du 
Nouv. Dict.des Sc. (?) — Rubiace^, § Stellatae Cham.et Schlect. in Linnwa, 3. 220. 
(1828) ; DC. Prodr. 4. 580. (1830) ; Bartl. Ord. Nat. 209. (1830).— Rubtace/e, 
§ Galiese, N.ab Es. et Fuhlrott. Nat. PJianz. Syst. 165. (1829). — STELLACEi®, Lindl. 
'Key. No. 189. (1835). 
Essential Character. — Calyx superior, 4- 5- or 6-lobed. Corolla monopetalous, 
rotate or tubular, regular, inserted into the calyx; the number of its divisions equal to 
those of the calyx. Stamens equal in number to the lobes of the corolla, and alternate 
with them. Ovary simple, 2-celled ; ovules solitary, erect ; style simple ; stigmas 2. Fruit 
a didymous, indehiscent pericarp, with 2 cells and 2 seeds. Seeds erect, solitary ; embryo 
straight in the axis of horny albumen ; radicle inferior ; cotyledons leafy. — Herbaceous 
plants, with whorled leaves, destitute of stipules ; angular stems ; flowers minute. 
Affinities. Tliere can be little doubt that the inconspicuo'u.s weeds of 
which this order is composed have as strong claims to be separated from 
Cinchonacese as that order ft'om Caprifoliacese. It is true that no very posi- 
tive characters are to be obtained from the fructification, but the want is 
abundantly supplied by the square stems and verticillate leaves without sti- 
pules, forming a kind of star, from which circumstance the name Stellatae is 
derived. Nevertheless, Botanists with one consent appear to be against this 
opinion: I confess I cannot conceive upon what grounds. Usually a mate- 
rial dissimilarity in habit, if accompanied by any clear character whether of 
vegetation or fructification, is considered sufficient ground for the separation 
of a group of plants into two orders ; in this case the weak angular stems 
cause a peculiarity of habit that cannot be mistaken, and the total absence of 
stipules, to say nothing of the didymous fruit, afford a certain mark of recog- 
nition. Surely there is some inconsistency in separating, by the absence of 
stipules, Caprifoliaceae which are undistinguishable in habit, while the very same 
character is rejected when applied to the separation of an assemblage of ge- 
nera, all distinctly combined by their habit. The only ground upon which 
this is intelligible is that taken by De Candolle and others who consider the 
apparent leaves of Stellatse to be in part true leaves and in part leaf- like sti- 
pules. To this verbal but not real distinction there is this objection which I 
conceive quite fatal to it. If a part of the leaves of each whorl of Ga- 
lium were stipules they must bear a certain proportion to the true leaves ; 
suppose the whorl to consist of two leaves, each will have two stipules, and 
consequently the whole number of parts in the whorl must be six, and in all 
cases the number must be some power of 3. But of the first forty species of 
Galium in De Candolle’s Prodromus only thirteen conform to this rule ; and 
the frequent tendency in the whorls to vary from 4 to 6 or from 5 to 6, or 
from 6 to 8, seems to me an incontrovertible proof that the apparent leaves of 
Stellatse are true leaves and not a modification of stipules. To be consistent 
then we must either combine Caprifoliacese with Cinchonaceae, or we must pre- 
serve Stellatse separate. Properly speaking, the appellation Rubiacese should 
be confined to this group, as it comprehends the genus Rubia ; but that 
name has been so generally apphed to the larger mass here comprehended 
under the name of Cinchonacese, that I find it better to abolish that of Rubia- 
cese altogether. 
Geography. Natives of the northern parts of the northern hemisphere, 
where they are extremely common weeds. 
Properties. First among them stands Madder, the root of Rubia tinc- 
1 
