Order XXX. Moraceae.
Moreae, Endlicher.
Characters.—Flowers unisexual. Males:—Calyx 0, or 3—4-parted. Stamens 3—4, inserted into the bese of the calyx and opposite its segments. Females:—Calyx 0, or 4—5-parted. Ovary 1-celled, rarely 2-celled. Ovules solitary, pendulous, or amphitropal, with the foramen uppermost. Fruit small nuts or utricles, 1-seeded, inclosed within the succulent receptacle, or collected in a fleshy head formed by the consolidated succulent cnlyx. Seed solitary, with a thin brittle testa; embryo lying in fleshy albumen, hooked, with the radicle long, superior, folded down towards the cotyledons.—Trees or shrubs, with a milky juice. Leaves furnished with stipules.
Properties.—Various. The milky juice of some species is bland and potable; of others acrid and poisonous. In India, Ficus elastica yields caoutchouc. Maclura tinctoria furnishes the dyewood called Fustic, whose colouring principle is termed morine.
