and Ceylon. Of the latter, or perhaps it is Eugenia acris, there is one tree in the Government
gardens in Madras, but remains unproductive though apparently healthy.
P roperties and U ses. These are various. Most of the species abound in a fragrant
resinous oil as indicated by the pellucid dots of the leaves and other parts. The Cajapuli oil
so highly esteemed on account of its medicinal properties is the produce of the Melaleuca
leucadendron, a plant of this order, a native of the Eastern islands but now common in India,
and which, from its great beauty, would certainly become much more so if more easily propagated
: its general aspect, when not in flower, reminds one of a weeping willow. The Rose apple
and Jambo Malac are admired not less on account of the beauty of the trees, than for their
fine flowers and curiously fragrant fruit which I once heard a child very characteristically describe
as a fruit that “ tasted like the smell of roses.” The clove so well known on account of
its pungent aromatic properties is also a member of this order. In addition to their aromatic
qualities astringency is also a prominent feature in their constitution and is strongly developed
in the bark of the common navel tree Syzygium Jambolanum as also in the fruit which have
a sweetish astringent taste: this fruit, which is about the size of a cherry and of a deep purple
colour, is during the season exposed for sale in the bazars in great quantities. The tree itself,
which is common all over the country, attains a great size and yields a fine hard close grained
timber : besides this many other trees of the order are very astringent and, according to Ainslie,
the kino, met with in the Indian bazars, is the produce of Eucalyptus resinifera a New Holland
plant.
In its medicinal properties the most remarkable plant of the order is the Pomegranate, a
decoction of the bark of the root of which has been ascertained to be almost a specific in the
cure of tape worm and is probably equally powerful in the removal of most other intestinal
worms. The flowers and rind of the fruit are tonic and astringent and, as well as a decoction
of the bark of the root, are prescribed in dysenteric complaints and other affections of the
bowels. The medicinal properties of Myrtaceae may now be summed up in few words, aromatic
and tonic combined with astringency fitting them, when different species are combined, for the
alleviation of chronic bowel complaints and generally for the removal of diseases of debility.
As ornamental shrubs several species of Eugenia merit an equally prominent place in the
garden with the common Myrtle and the timber of some of the larger trees is considered excellent,
on account of its hardness, combined with close grain and great durability.
R emarks on G en er a a n d S pecies. In an order so large and generally so natural, it is
difficult to find characters by which to define the limits of either genera or species, without
having recourse to distinctive marks to which in most other orders only a secondary value would
be attached, but which in this owing to their somewhat greater constancy admitting of their
being so employed, become of considerable importance—though still insufficient to give good
characters or form well defind genera.
Of the tribe Leptospermeae we have only one genus ( Melaleuca) belonging to it in this
part of India and that not a native. It is at once distinguished by its pentadelphous stamens—
and very minute seed almost like powder.
The tribe Myrleae, the largest of the order, is that which principally prevails in India, and
requires much consideration if not indeed a complete revision of its genera before they can be said
to stand on a firm foundation. As they are now defined many of them are nearly useless, the
differences existing more in words than in nature. This remark is confined to the species found
in India, those from other quarters being nearly unknown to me except by verbal characters.
The genus Myrtus is said to have a many-seeded 2 or 3-celled berry, but no notice is
taken of the ovary, a strange oversight, since there we generally find stable characters, not so
in the mature fruit, which may be, and usually is, greatly changed in its progress towards maturity.
I have examined the ovary of four reputed species. In Myrtus communis it is 3-celled
with several ovules in each. In M. lomentosa it is 3-celled, each imperfectly divided by a spurious
dissepiment, and containing very numerous superposed ovules attached to a central placenta.
In M. speclabilis (?) it is one celled with two parietal placentas, showing clearly, that it cannot
well be retained in the genus of which M. communis is the type ; and from which I have accordingly
removed i t : and lastly, M. capensis (Harvey) which must also be excluded, its ovary
nartaking more of the character of Memecylon than of Myrtus. Turning next to Eugenia,
which in its more obvious characters, those namely taken from the calyx and flower, does not
differ materially from Myrtus but is separated by its 2-celled ovary and very different seed.
These which in Myrtus, are compressed reniform enclosing a terete curved embryo in a hard
bony testa, are, in Eugenia globose, with thick soft and fleshy cotyledons; forming an excellent
distinction'between these often, otherwise, closely allied genera.
When we next proceed to compare Eugenia with its off sets, Jambosa and Syzygium, permanent
distinctions are not so easily found. All three have a 2-celled ovarium with numerous
ovules all have a more or less succulent fruit, all have fleshy seed. The distinctions, therefore,
attempted to be established rest on Jambosa having a turbinate somewhat elongated calyx tube,
a grumous edible fruit and a lobed seed, in place of a globose calyx tube and conferruminate
seed. The first of these can scarcely be admitted if Wallich’s E. formosa and E. bifaria are
to be considered genuine species, since both have the turbinate calyx and general habit of Jambosa
and in my opinion, are both more justly referable to that genus, as it now stands, than to
Eugenia. The character taken from the cotyledons being lobed or conferruminate, does not
appear a more satisfactory one and must, as in the instance just quoted, be received with caution
as both seem to have conferruminate cotyledons though that is not mentioned in the description.
Syzygium is said to be distinguished from both, by the petals cohering, forming a
calyptra or lid and felling off either in that state or immediately after expansion, thus making the
essential character of the genus rest on its having caducous petals ; the seed being the same as in
Jambosa. This seems to me at best a. very artificial character and, if not taken along with habit,
is altogether nullified by several species in my collection, which have the habit of the most perfect
forms of the genus, but want the deciduous petals. To establish generic characters on
such distinctions, which are barely sufficient to, supply very secondary sub-divisions, is altogether
to banish from natural history the axiom that—the genus gives the character not the character
the genus. . .
When we extend our comparison a step further and compare the distinctions taken from the
calyx tube in these two genera Syzygium and Jambosa, we find them equally at fault. Syzygium
is said to have the calyx tube obovate, while in Jambosa it is turbinate and attenuated at the
base. In S. Zeylanicum D.C. and N. Wightianum Wall, it is described as elongated and
clavate, while in both, the inflorescence is racemose, the flowers springing from the naked
branches, as in Jambosa malaccensis and some others, in place of forming umbelliform cymes, the usual form in the genus, thus corresponding in habit as well as structure with Jambosa. For
these reasons I cannot consent to separate Syzygium and Jambosa. Eugenia it seems to me
must equally be united, if we would form a natural association.
Let us next consider Caryophyllus, the oldest genus of the group. It is characterized by
having a cylindrical calyx tube and 4-lobed border, the petals cohering into a lid,as in Syzygium,
and the stamens free, forming 4 tufts with a slight almost inconspicuous interval between : the
inflorescence is corymbose. Here again we have the identical structure mentioned as belonging
to S. Zeylanicum and S. Wightianum, with the exception of the 4-lobed limb of the calyx and 4
tufts of stamens, the fruit and seed are much the same in all—but surely the limb of the calyx being
a little more or less divided can never be received as a generic character being, in truth, only
fit to be employed as a specific one. For these reasons I propose to reunite these four genera
Eugenia, Caryophyllus, Jambosa and Syzygium into one, and use those characters which have
hitherto been employed as generic ones, for its subdivision into sections, it being quite impossible
they can ever furnish good generic ones : genera which are made to depend on such characters
as a greater or less development of any single organ, such as in the elongated calyx of Caryophyllus
and of Jambosa, in contradistinction to the short one of Syzygium, or on the more or
less deciduous petals of species, cannot be natural. Neither can we get good artificial genera, by
the combination of these characters, unless we are prepared to multiply them beyond meat ure.
In that case it might be easy enough to construct generic characters—for one genus might have
a short calyx tube and petals that expand before falling—another might have an elongated tube
and similar petals—a third might have a long tube with deciduous calyptrated petals—a fourth
a short one, and so on and if rigidly adhered to, might facilitate the determination of species,
but while the ovary, ovules, and fruit are nearly the same in all, the general habit the