ORDER XLVII.—SAPINDACEÆ.—SOAP-TREE TRIBE.
The only plant in this order which will grow in the open air in England is Kölreuteria paniculata, a beautiful tree, with very elegant leaves, and panicles of yellow flowers, which are succeeded by a bladdery capsule, which is divided into three cells in its lower part, though it is only one-celled above. The rind and pulp of the fruit of Sapindus Saponaria are used as soap in those countries of which it is a native. The nuts of this plant are round and hard, and of such a shining black that they are made into buttons and beads by the inhabitants of Spanish America. The whole plant, if thrown into ponds containing fish, will intoxicate, and sometimes kill them. Another interesting plant belonging to this order is the Chinese fruit called Litchi (Euphoria or Nephelium Litchi); which has its sweet eatable pulp enclosed in a kind of nut, much wrinkled on the outside; so that the fruit lies within the stone, instead of being on the outside of it. These hard, stone-like berries grow in loose racemes.
ORDER XLVIII.—MELIACEÆ.—THE BEAD-TREE TRIBE.
Melia Azederach, the Pride of India, or Indian Lilac, or Bead-tree, for it is known by all these names, is a native of Syria, which has become almost naturalised in the South of Europe, particularly near the Mediterranean. The leaves are bi-pinnate, the flowers are violet-coloured, and the fruit, which resembles that of the cherry, is of a pale yellow when ripe. The pulp is poisonous, and the stones are used for making rosaries in the Roman Catholic countries.
ORDER XLVIII*.—CEDRELEÆ.—THE MAHOGANY TRIBE.
This order was at first united to Meliaceæ by De Candolle, but it has been separated on account of its winged seeds. It contains, among other genera, the Mahogany tree (Swietenia Mahagoni), and the West Indian Cedar (Cedrela). The leaves of these trees are alternate and pinnate, with unequal-sided leaflets; and the flowers are in large spreading panicles composed of numerous little cymes. The fruit is capsular, and the seeds are winged. The genera contained in this order, all require a stove in Great Britain.