Dicotyledons with Polypetalotcs Flowers, 
43 
Natural Order 
MYRTACEAL Tab. 35, 
Diagnosis.— Trees or shrubs, with opposite entire translucently-dotted 
leaves. Flowers regular. Stamens indefinite. Pistil syncarpous; ovary 
inferior. 
Distribution. —A very large Natural Order, almost confined to Tropical and Subtropical coun¬ 
tries of both Hemispheres and to Australia. About thirty genera are peculiar to Australia, including 
the large genus Eucalyptus , and the remarkable group of Chamselaucieae, characterised by a 1-celled 
ovary and frequently involucrate flowers. Common Myrtle ( Myrtus communis) is the only indigenous 
European representative of the Order. 
Leaves glandular-dotted and usually exhibiting a vein immediately within and parallel to the margin. 
Petals united and thrown off on expansion in Eucalyptus. 
Fruit various, dry or succulent. In Brazil-nut (Bcrtholletia) and its allies, a woody capsule opening by a 
transverse lid. 
USES, &c.—Several Australian species of Eucalyptus, which includes the Iron-barks, Gum-trees and Stringy- 
barks of Colonists, afford valuable timber. The Guava ( Psiclium Guava), Rose Apple ( Jambosa vulgaris), and 
Brazil-nut ( Bcrtholletia excelsa), are tropical fruits of the Order, and the Pomegranate ( Punica Granaturd) of a near 
ally, probably indigenous in Western Asia. Cloves are the dried flower-buds of Caryophyllus aromaticus, originally 
brought from the Moluccas, now extensively cultivated in Africa and the West Indies ; Clove-pepper or Allspice, 
the fruit of Pimentcc vulgaris, cultivated in Jamaica. Myrtacese generally abound in an aromatic volatile oil, the 
presence of which gives character to the products of the Order. 
