Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 1.djvu/258

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A small order of tropical arborescent or climbing shrubs, with opposite, simple, undivided, toothed, or entire, somewhat coriaceous leaves, and small deciduous stipules. The flowers are small, bisexual, regular, arranged in racemes, corymbs, or axillary fascicles.

The calyx consists of five, or very rarely four or six, small persistent imbricating sepals. The corolla is composed of five, equal, inferior petals, alternate with the sepals, slightly imbricated in aestivation. There are only three stamens, by some the filaments are described as distinct, by others they are said to be free above, but dilated and usually cohering at the base, forming a cup or disk-like covering to the ovary. Anthers terminal, one or 2-celled, in the former case opening transversely across the apex, in the latter longitudinally. Ovary superior, hid under the disk of the filaments, 3-celled, with several superposed ovules in each, either ranged in a single or double row, and attached to the axis : styles 3 cohering into 1 : stigmas 3 united, or distinct. Fruit either baccate with one or several seeds, or composed of three samaroid 2-valved carpels. Seeds exalbuminous, embryo straight, radicle pointing to the base, sometimes winged, cotyledons flat, elliptical, oblong, somewhat fleshy.

These are uncertain, some Botanists considering this order more nearly allied to Acerineae and Malpighiaceae, while others at the head of whom is the celebrated Brown, and Dr. Lindley assert they are scarcely to be distinguished from Celastrineae; the latter Botanist even reduces this to a suborder of Celastrineae. Bartling places these two orders next each other, while Meisner on the other handretains this order in his class Malpighinae in the vicinity of Malpighiaceae, and Erythroxyleae. To me it appears that in a strictly natural distribution of the orders it should rank near Celaslrineae, if not, as Dr. Lindley has done, form a section of that order, but so long as the orders themselves, are distributed according to an artificial arrangement depending on the insertions of the petals and stamens, whether hypogynous or perigynous, I fear it must be retained in its present place. In itself, the order does not seem well constituted, as resting on a peculiarity of structure which I cannot help viewing as of secondary importance, the unsymmetrical (ternary) stamens and dilated cohering filaments, while the fruit, which generally affords more valuable characters, differs most widely in the different genera. The characters how- ever derived from the relative number of stamens and sepals, added to the very unusual development of the filaments are so very singular, as well to entitle them to a degree of importance not usually accorded to them, and even to raise them superior, in this particular instance, to those taken from the peculiarities of the fruit and structure of the seed, and, for the same reason that they unite Salacia with a baccate fruit and Hippocratea with three samaroid carpels, exclude Celastrineae, though in both orders "the insertion of the ovules is either towards the base, or is central, and the direction of the radicle is always inferior" as observed by Mr. Brown.

This order is altogether of tropical origin, the larger portion appertaining to America. Some species of Hippocratea and Salacia are found in Africa, and several more of both in India. Hitherto, these two genera only, have been met with in India, but are very generally diffused over it, and so abundant, that species of one or other are to be found in almost every jungle.

I am not aware of any use to which any of the Indian species of this order has been applied. The fruit of one African species Salacia pyriformis is eatable, its flavour is said to be rich and sweet. The seeds of Hippocratea comosa, a West Indian plant, are oily and sweet.

The Indian flora as already remarked only furnishes species of two genera, Hippocratea and Salacia. They are easily distinguished when in fruit by the 2-valved capsular carpels of the one, and the pulpy baccate fruit of the other. In flower they are not quite so readily distinguished, but may be by the anthers which are 1-celled, bursting across the apex in the former, and 2-celled opening lengthwise in the latter, and generally still more easily by the inflorescence which is panicled in Hippocratea, while