Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 2.djvu/299

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY-

157 lished it in his "Sterpes Novae," a less costly work, but, apparently not being aware of Lamackfs name, called the genus Monetia, which soon became the better known of the two, and seems to have been generally adopted by all subsequent writers except Jussieu and Persoon. , Of course in constructing the order, we adopted the name which had priority in its favour, in the hope of at the same time doing justice to the original discoverer, and preventing an unnecessary synonym being added to our list.

Azima letracantha.

1. Flowering branch, natural size.

2. Male flower.

3. Same split open.

4. Anthers back and front views.

5. Flowering shoot, female.

6. Female flowers, and accompanying spines.

7. Female flower dissected.

8. Stamens of female flower.

9. 10. Ovary cut vertically and transversely.

11. Branch with mature fruit.

12. Fruit cut transversely.

13. Mature seed.

14. magnified.

15. Testa removed, showing the large cotyledons and inferior radicle.

16. Cotyledons seen from within.

17. Portions of a leaf magnified, showing the pube- scence.

This, so far as the name goes, is an old order, being first so designated by Jussieu, but as he constructed it, it was rather complex, including both Jasmineae and Oleaceae, and two genera belonging to other orders. Mr. Brown in his Prodromus limited the order to Jasminum and Nyctanthes, separating the Oleaceous genera to form a distinct family. This arrangement has been pretty generally adopted by subsequent Botanists, but not unanimously. Richard, I believe, still adheres to the old order and in 1831, when Dr. Arnotfs article "Botany," in the Encyclopedia Britannica, appeared, he held the same views ; but has since adopted Brown's. Until very recently, I had no doubt on the subject, considering them as thoroughly distinct as Jasminece and Asclepiadece, and I still think them quite distinct, though I confess I am unable, while Chondrosperm remains here, to tell where the one begins and the other ends. Under Oleacece I have shown that characters taken from the position and number of the ovules, and from the structure of the seed, are not sufficiently constant to be relied on, hence it appears, that we must look to habit and aestivation of the corolla, as furnishing in the main the most constant characters, Oleaceoe being generally arborious or erect rigid shrubs with valvate aestiva- tion of the corolla ; while Jasmines, excluding Nyctanthes and Schrebera, are voluble shrubs with twisted aestivation. To these may be added, if I may use the expression, that tetramerous diandrous flowers are characteristic of Oleacece, whereas pentamerous diandrous ones seem to appertain to Jasminece. These are all important distinctions and seem sufficient, not merely to separate this diandrous group of plants into two orders, but even into different groups or alliances as Lindley has done.

Flowers hermaphrodite, unsymmetrical. Calyx persistent, 4-8-toothed or lobed. Corolla hypogynous, 1-petaled, 5-8-lobed, salver shaped ; lobes imbricated in aestivation, the 2 exterior ones twisted or valvate. Stamens two, attached to the tube, incluse. Anthers 2-celled, introrse, bursting longitudinally. Ovary destitute of a hypogynous disk, 2-celled, 2-lobed at the apex ; ovules ascending or amphitropous 1-2, rarely more, in each cell ; style simple ; stigma 2-lobed. Fruit bibaccate or capsular ; capsules 2-celled, bipartible, cells indehiscent. Seed exalbuminous or with sparing albumen, testa often tumid ; embryo straight; radicle inferior. Erect or scandent shrubs : leaves opposite, rarely alternate or often unequally pinnate, leaflets 3-5-7, or sometimes, by abortion of the lateral leaflets, reduced to one, but then on a jointed petiol, indicating its compound nature. Flowers corymbose or panicled ; pedicels opposite, 1-bracteate. Corolla white or yellow, often fragrant.