# Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 1/Ochnaceae

LI.—OCHNACEAE.
This like the preceding is a small order of tropical plants, for the most part under shrubs. Their most striking feature appertains to the fruit, one unfortunately not so well brought out as it ought and would to have been in the accompanying plate, had it been possible to procure them in a more advanced stage when preparing the drawing. In this order they are seated on a broad fleshy gynobase at first close to each other, but becoming quite distinct, like so many nine-pins, as they advance towards maturity, owing to the gynobase enlarging with their growth.
​"Sepals 5, persistent: aestivation imbricated. Petals hypogynous, equal to or rarely more numerous than the sepals, deciduous, spreading: aestivation imbricated. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, or 10, or indefinite, inserted on the hypogynous disk : filaments persistent : anthers 2-celled, erect, opening by pores. Ovaries as many as petals, distinct or rarely combined, seated upon the enlarged tumid torus : ovules solitary, erect : styles combined into one, which springs directly from the torus: from between the bases of the ovaries. Fruit (a sarcobase) of several indehiscent drupacious carpella, articulated with the torus. Seeds solitary. Albumen none. Embryo straight : radicle short, inferior : cotyledons thick. Glabrous trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple, stipulate. Pedicels joined in the middle."
Affinities. In Dr. Lindley's recent arrangement, this order is placed at, the head of his alliance Rutales of the group Gynobaseosce, and well it might, as the gynobasic structure is more distinctly marked in this than in any of the other member of the group, it is readily distinguished from all the other by the dehiscence of its anthers which open by pores at the apex in place by a longitudinal slit, by its single style and erect solitary ovules, and from all those with divided styles, by the absence of pellucid dots in its leaves. In the characters of its fruit that excellent Botanist justly remarks it is " to polypetalous plants what Labialce and Boraginece are to Monopetalous."
Geographical Distribution. Tropical India, Africa, and America, are the native coun- tries of the plants of this family, but they are by far the most numerous in America, scarcely one-fifih of the whole number being found in India. Our flora only extends to 5 species of about 50 described by authors : of these Roxburgh seems only to have been acquainted with one, the plant here figured, and quotes as a synonym a figure of Burman's (Thesaur Zeylan. tab. 56) which belongs to the allied genus Gomphia. Wallich in his list enumerates 12 species for all India and the Islands. The number so far as I am aware has not been augmented.
Properties and Uses. Gomphia angustifolia has we are told by Rheede, a bitter root and leaves, and is employed in Malabar as a tonic. The flowers of Ochna squarrosa are fragrant, but no part of the plant appears to be applied to any useful purpose.
Remarks on Genera and Species. On this head triers is little scope for remark. Ochna Wightiana, however, it may be here remarked, differs somewhat from the character of the genus in having the styles deeply divided at the apex into as many parts as there are carpels to the ovary, each furnished with a capitate stigma : in place of having them united to the apex and having a single stigma. The anthers too are shorter than the filaments. These differences however scarcely admit of this species being separated to form the type of genus.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE 69.
1. Ochna squarrosa — natural size.
2. A flower, the petals remeved to show the stamens- S. Stamens back and front views.
4. The gynobase and ovaries with the style and stigma.
5. Ovaries cut erlically, showing their attachment to the base of the style, and their solitary erect ovules.
6. A detached ovary.
7- A seed approaching maturely cut transversely.
8. A carpel cut vertically, showing the position of the seed.
9. A seed removed and deprived of the testa.
10. A seed lobe, but through an error of the artist inverted and showing the radicle superior in place of inferior.
OCHNACEÆ OCHNA SQUARROSA. (Linn.)