/ 3 HOOKE ES
JOURNAL OF BOTANY
AND
KEW GARDEN MISCELLANY.
EDITED BY
Sm WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER, K.H., D.C.L. Oxox.,
F.L.S., CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE IMPERIAL
INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, AND DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL GARDENS OF KEW.
VOL. IX. []
m Il PPP PPP PE
LONDON: LOVELL REEVE, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1857.
HOOKER’S
JOURNAL OF BOTANY
ú AND
KEW GARDEN MISCELLANY.
The BANDA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS ; бу T. OXLEY, Esq., B.A., Senior Surgeon of the Straits Settlement. -
(Extracted from the ‘Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia.)
That small yet important cluster of islands, long. 130 E. and lat. 4° 30' N., known as the Banda group, consists of three large and seven small islets, many of which are only little rocky points jutting from. the sea. Those devoted to Nutmeg culture are three in number, and called the Great Banda, Banda Neira, and Pulo Aai. Alllie very close together. One, named Gunong Api, is a lofty voleanie cone, divided by a very narrow, shallow channel, difficult.to be traversed, from the Great Banda . — and Banda Neira. The crater is incrusted with ashes, which stretch down to the water's edge on the western side of Gunong Api, and only ` a few trees, shrubs, and small huts are discernible on the eastern side. The Island of Great Banda is far from attractive at first sight: you see — along the shore the neat picturesque cottages of Parkineers, or Nutmeg- growers; the rest looks like mere jungle, till closer investigation reveals — its marvellous beauties. Banda Neira, again, impresses you unfavour- ably: its unroofed and dilapidated houses, ruined by the terrible earth- quake of 1852, give it the aspect of utter desolation; yet never in any 3 spot of the East have I met with such lovely scenery as the Banda — — Islands present..
VOL. IX. | | B
2 THE BANDA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS.
The one-storied houses, which stretch near the seashore, are very solidly walled, but lightly roofed, in order to resist earthquakes, and each has a small Bungalow at the rear, for refuge during these tremen- dous visitations. The bungalows have strong foundation-walls, three feet thick, on which the light structure, composed generally of the leaf- stems of the Sago Palm, is reared. The last severe earthquake in 1852 levelled almost every dwelling in Banda and Neira, destroyed the dry- ing-houses of the Parkineers, and unroofed the church, since which time | only slight undulations have occurred. Besides the chance of being buried under the ruins of their houses, the people of the Banda group are in constant peril of sharing the fate of Hereulaneum and Pompeii; for Gunong Api, with its crater, nearly 2000 feet above them, is only ` a few hundred yards distant, and, by frequent puffs of smoke from its - numerous craters, gives constant warning that its slumbering fires may, at any moment, rush into dreadful activity. This volcano is placed on the most active part of the Great Volcano Belt, which, commencing in Kamtehatka, stretches through the Philippines, Celebes, Java, Su- matra, etc., to the Вау of Bengal. It is to be hoped, however, that the омин fires, having found а vent in the late dreadful eruption in the Sangir Islands, north of Menado, when 2800 lives were lost, may remain tranquil for awhile, and thus Banda will enjoy temporary safety. The island of Neira would be secured from a torrent of lava by the intervening straits but a shower of ashes might instantly destroy the whole place. The soil and rocks of these islands, formed of succes- sive layers of pumice and basalt, sufficiently show their origin.
“On the three islands which T have mentioned, there are, in all, thirty- - four Parks, containing 320,000 bearing Nutmeg-trees, and their total produce last year was 4030 piculs of Nutmeg and 1008 of Mace. This gives little more than one catty and a half of spice to each tree, but . many causes diminish the produce: the height of the trees makes . much of the fruit inaccessible ; some trees grow in places of difficult access; and the wind blows donee the nutmegs in such quantities, that 1 have seen hundreds of thousands strewn on the ground and ruined. A large kind of pigeon feeds extensively on the fruit, rejecting the kernel after digesting the Mace; and field-rats devour the nuts, etc. Alto- gether, the losses are very considerable.
The Nutmeg-parks or plantations are private арау, and can be ` ame
“sold or bequeathed by the owner. ч Banda contains oe :
THE BANDA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS. - 8
Neira three, and Pulo Aai six (thirty-four in all). Government has a monopoly of the spice, at a fixed rate; and though this be low, the Parkineers have many privileges. One of these is, that the labour is chiefly done by convicts, of whom Government furnishes 2500, paying them a rupee and a half a month, with gratis medical care; while the Parkineer supplies them with rice and two suits of clothes yearly. Again, rice is sold to the Nutmeg-growers at half-price, and they ob- tain gratis building-materials and implements from the Government stores. Without such aid the spice crop must cease, for there is no native population in Banda to do the work. Four overseers and six- teen park-rangers are employed by Government to see that the convict- labourers are well treated, and that no smuggling goes on; also to re- port the state of the plantations, the trees that die, those which are planted, and all particulars of the produce.
Of these thirty-four plantations, I visited all those on Great Banda and Neira, that is, twenty-eight, and was charmed with the lovely scenery and magnificent prospects which many of them command. The former island is a mountainous ridge, rising above the ocean to the height of 1500 feet at the east end, sloping more gradually to the west; the summit consists of undulating plateaux, with no table-land. In many places the ground i is precipitous and quite inaccessible: over the more practicable portions of the island are carried artificial staircases, in some instances quite perpendicular. We travelled up and down these in — chairs, each borne by ten men; and a most giddy and perilous journey
did it seem; for it is indispensable in descending to hold fast by the — —
arms, with the feet resting on a cross-bar, else the rider may be hurled
over the bearers’ heads, where hundreds of feet yawn right below; while s = in ascending you are carried horizontally, with the face upward to the ` Cut
sky. The scenery, when you have courage to look round, is enchant-
ing,—the cool shade, varying views, and freedom from entangling j jun- p d gle, are peculiar and delightful. Underfoot is a carpet of short grass, —
Mosses, Ferns, and Lycopodiums; for to keep the vegetation short under the Nutmeg-trees is the sole approach to cultivation. No manure — is used: the only attempt at planting is to stick in a growing nutmeg wherever a vacancy exists, without regularity, so that often clumps of the trees are seen together, 10 to 12 feet apart, 50 to 60 feet high, and their stems unbranched for 15 or 20 feet above the ground. Clear rills
of pure refreshing water rush down the steep ravines, their sound min- —— — |
+ THE BANDA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS.
gling with the notes of two kinds of pigeons; while all along the south and eastern parts of the island the sea breaks in high and loud waves on the iron-bound coast, sending its injurious spray for many hundred yards over the Nutmeg-parks.
Some of the Parkineers’ houses are comfortable, and many are beau- tifully situated. The owners are mostly natives of Banda, wedded to their own ways and averse to improvement; though the example of a German gentleman, named Brandes, who has in three years doubled the return of his Spice-trees, might stimulate them to adopt some of his innovations. But in fact the Nutmeg-tree cannot properly be said to be cultivated at Banda: the nuts are merely collected, and have an equally good right to be admitted to the English market} on the low rate of duty, as is accorded to the long-shaped sort from Ceram and Papua. Both are the wild, indigenous productions of the localities; and while it is inconsistent to make any difference in the rate of duty, it is highly injudicious thus to favour the export of an inferior article, which is not only a less aromatic spice, but, from its astringency, even an un- wholesome one.
The true Nutmeg has always occupied its present position in Banda, having been found there, on the discovery of these islands by the Por- tuguese, in 1511. There is no fear that it will ever be eradicated : the wild pigeons will disseminate it, without the help of man. It is the type of the genus; and as all varieties of it are abnormal, I shall point out the differences between it and the Nutmeg of Ceram (com- monly called the Nutmeg from the Straits). The latter tree attains a much less height, and is a mere shrub compared with the Banda Nutmeg-tree, which is commonly fifty feet high and sometimes seventy. The produce is much larger in quantity, relatively to the size of the tree, in Banda than the Straits: the nuts are more uniform in size, and nearer to a spherical form, heavier, and containing more essential oil. _ A curious variety exists: a few trees always bearing ivory-coloured
instead of red Mace. The Nutmeg-tree begins to bear at eight years old; it is in its prime at twenty-five years old, and continues fruitful till sixty or older. s: | The method of collecting the nuts in Banda is to rear small oval baskets, made of Bamboo, upon long poles, among the fruit-bearing branches; each basket is equipped with a couple of small prongs, pro- jecting from the top: these prongs seize the fruit-stalk, when a gentle
i
THE BANDA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS. 5
pull detaches the nut, and causes it to drop into the little open basket, which contains only three or four Nutmegs. Thus the Mace escapes the injury which it receives by contact with the ground; and there is no hunting for the fallen fruit. In the Straits, no pains are taken to gather the Nutmegs: they are picked up as they drop: many are lost, and all more or less damaged. The mode of breaking them is better too: at Banda the nuts are spread on a sort of drumhead and struck with a flat piece of board, which disengages many kernels at one stroke; after which they are carefully stripped of the Mace, by detaching the latter with the hand, beginning at the apex; instead of scraping off the Mace with large coarse knives from the base, which breaks and curls the blade of the spice.
The Mace is dried in the sun; but the Nutmegs are smoked by slow fires of wood, for three months, before they are fit for exportation. Mace is of three qualities: it is packed in casks containing about 280 lbs.: a man stands in the cask and presses down the spice, as it is filled in. The nuts are placed in wooden bins, filled with lime and water, which are mixed to the consistency of mortar. There they re- main for three months, and are then sorted into three qualities and put in casks, like the Mace. The best Japan Teak is used for the casks, of which there is a regular manufactory. The refuse nuts are ground to powder, and converted into what is ealled Nutmeg Soap, by steaming them over large cauldrons for six hours: the warm mass is then subjected to strong pressure, when a brown fluid runs out, which cools to a saponaceous appearance, and, under the name of Nutmeg Soap, is stated to be an effectual remedy for chronic rheumatism:
Except Spice, the Banda Isles produce little: Rice and the neces- saries of life are imported. The large Canari-trees* yield a sweet escu- lent nut, which contains much oil. Vines are said to bear abundantly
the finest grapes; and the ordinary fruits of the Indian Archipelago - 5
all grow еге, —аѕ the Durion, Mangosteen, Jack, and many others:
but the Nutmeg is so much more valuable, that no importance is at- :
tached to the other fruits, and even vegetables for the table are hardy ` reared. From the observations which I made in Banda, I came to the — conclusion, that it is desirable always to obtain seed from thence, for the culture of the valuable Nutmeg. In that group of islands the original — — and distinetive character and qualities of the phai are "E — . : * Canarium commune. Es
6 SKETCH OF THE
elsewhere the fruit degenerates, becoming more and more inferior at every remove from the parent stock. The Banda-tree is also much ` longer-lived than the Nutmeg-tree of the Straits: one tree, brought from Banda to Malacca, is supposed to be more than seventy years old, and it still bears abundance of fruit: its nuts are perfect and uni- form, quite different from the long and ill-shaped ones, which are seen in the Straits.
It is to be hoped that the Planters of the Straits will avail them- selves of the liberality of the Netherlands Government, which concedes to them the privilege of obtaining fresh seed.
Sketch of the Life and Writings of M. DE Martius, Secretary to the Bavarian Academy of Science; dy ALPHONSE DE CANDOLLE.
(Continued from vol. viii. р. 369.)
But the work with which Martius has specially identified himself, - and which best displayed his taste and ability, and upon which he most exclusively worked, and which he completed after twenty-eight years’ labour, is the “Natural History of Palms.’ This noble publication is in three large folio volumes, which contain 245 plates, chiefly coloured, some being landscapes, which exemplify the general aspect of the living Palms. The noble growth of these trees, utterly different from, and often far overtopping, their companions, had evidently captivated Martius, as they did Linnzus, who styled them the Princes of the Vegetable Kingdom. Far from numerous is this aristocratic family : it contains only 600 species; but in no part of the world is it more amply represented than in Brazil, nor had it ever been so closely studied as by our author. | > dts uibs а _ The ‘History of Palms’ is entirely written in Latin; the style is elegant and clear; the subdivisions, tables, and figures materially faci- litate research. Тһе first volume treats of Palms in general, and com- mences by Mohl’s chapter on their anatomy, whereon he founds excel- lent remarks on the organization of Monocotyledons, which was little known for want of good specimens. Moldenhauer and Desfontaines had established certain points, but others were undefined. Martius rendered a prodigious service to science by furnishing M. Mohl with - numerous fragments of various Palms, and consigning them to his in-
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 7
vestigation. The second chapter, by M. Unger, is upon Fossil Palms; and in the third Martius takes up the pen and pursues the subject to the close, by describing the formation of the various organs, from the root to the inflorescence and fruit. In discussing the stem, M. Mohl's remarks are confirmed ; while the convolution and display of the fibres, combined with the leaves, to which they extend, are treated in a tho- roughly scientifie and masterly style. "Various tables of figures exhibit the rate of increase in the trunks of several kinds, both in height and girth, the annual number of their leaves, and the distance between these leaves. It is the opinion of M. de Martius, that the unbranched Palms, in general, do not attain a great age,—not more than three centuries: while Dicotyledonous trees occasionally live for thousands of years, and die by accident. The ramified Palms, such as the Doum of Egypt, which is almost the only instance of this growth among the Tribe, are probably much longer-lived than the others, and this seems only natural, as each branch issues from a new bud; while, in the norma! state of these trees, the same terminal shoot is continued and becomes exhausted as it rises farther and farther from the roots.
The formation of leaves, and their relative arrangements, are carefully treated; and numerous observations exhibit the varieties which take place in each species. In most botanical treatises it is customary to judge of the foliage and its arrangement by the examination of one part of a stem; while M. de Martius asserts that the Date Palm has all the following итере of the leaves :—4, 2, 4, 57; the Chamedorea Schiedeana 2, 2, etc. Again, the arrangement of the floral leaves, termed spathas, often varies; and it differs from that of common foliage, ad- hering however to the mathematical rule of the spiral, as the above-men- tioned figures plainly prove. The parts of the flower are equally closely —— — studied. In all these respects, the work in question is on a level with — the most recent observations; though the plates in the first volume have been published these many years. The development of the whorls of flowers in the Palms is normal,—that is, from the exterior to the interior; still, the three ovules precede the ovaries, which is not an - unimportant fact, whether in itself, or as bearing on the theory of the — s origin of ovules. As for the relative situation of the floral parts, аа P of the bracteas or bractlets which surround it: the subject is one in | which M. de Martius delights, and of which he gives numerous figures and details in this work, uhequalled, Т believe, by any or
8 SKETCH OF THE
The geographical distribution of Palms is not particularly interest- ing, as these trees are almost equally diffused throughout the Tropics. More than half are found within the first ten degrees of latitude, above and below the equator. Of the 582 known species, 307 inhabit the Old World, and 275 the New. М. Martius takes the opportunity to - append a map of fifty-one regions, into which he divides the whole world, as regards its Botany; and in another map, adorned with alle- gorical designs, he exhibits the distribution of Palms, in about half these regions, with deeper and paler tints, according to the greater or less number of the species. In reference to the distribution of seeds, he discusses the probable origin of the Cocoa-nut Palm (Cocos nucifera), and shows that the islands of Western Equatorial America, and espe- cially those islets termed the Cocos group, are probably the starting- point of a tree which had been deemed of Asiatie origin. I have myself adopted this opinion, and support it by new reasons in my most recent work upon Botanical Geography. The second volume is devoted to a detailed description of the Brazilian species. In the third the author considers the whole Family, its characters, synonyms, the locality and habits of every species, genus, and division of Palms. A more complete monograph hardly exists. 'The observations on certain remarkable species, as the Palmetto (Chamerops humilis), the Date (Phenix dacty- lifera), are extensive, learned, and interesting.
These large and important publications on descriptive Botany did not seem to satisfy Martius completely ; and they certainly have their draw- backs, in the tardy progress which is inseparable from their heavy expense and numerous plates; besides their being restricted to certain genera and families. It was, no doubt, in M. de Martius’ option to select the most novel and interesting kinds; but while thus occupied, the majority of his plants remained unexamined in the herbarium: and other botanists were engaged in publishing the plants of Brazil. M. de Martius accordingly began a Flora, in octavo, of all Brazilian species, consisting of descriptions, without plates, and comprising not only his own discoveries, but the Herbaria of Sellow and of the Prince of Neuwied, and other travellers, The second volume, which related to the Grasses, was promptly and ably edited by Nees von Esenbeck, and included a chapter by Martius on the distribution of the Graminee in Brazil, and remarks on their economic uses, principally on the origin, cultivation, and employment of the Sugar-cane. The first volume, on
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 9
the Cryptogamia, did not appear till some years after the first; it is by MM. Martius, Nees, and Eschweiler.
I am ignorant of the reason why this octavo publication was discon- tinued; but only the above-mentioned two volumes ever appeared, and M. de Martius speedily commenced a work, on a more enlarged plan, which united its advantages with those of the * Nova Genera.' I allude to the *Flora Brasiliensis, in folio, edited by different authors, pub- lished originally under the superintendence of Martius and Endlicher, and then, on the death of the latter, by Martius alone, now aided by M. Fenzl. It is patronized by the two Sovereigns of Austria and Ba- varia. Fifteen numbers of this splendid work have already appeared, each containing all the Brazilian species of one family, as derived from the united collections of Pohl, Martius, Sellow, Neuwied, Riedel, Lund, etc., which are deposited in the Museums of Germany. It is to be re- gretted that the plants of Bahia, gathered by Blanchet, and those of Gardner, both purchasable at the time, were not added from the begin- ning of the book ; but in the later Fasciculi the range is extended, and the ‘ Flora of Brazil’ now contains, pretty nearly, all the species that are known to grow there. The Herbarium of Auguste de St.-Hilaire, long guarded with as much strict jealousy as the sacred Virgins of the Sun, but now open to public acquisition by the owner’s death, will probably augment, if permitted by the Museum of Paris, the riches Ñ of the most extensive Flora which ever was attempted. |
М. de Martius has not restricted himself to a methodical order in the Families, but sometimes occupies himself with one or other mono- graph, bearing on Brazilian Botany. The vast extent of Brazil, and its striking wealth in plants, cause each such Essay to be nearly a com- plete account of the Tribe in question. This may be particularly said of the Anonacee by Martius himself, the Mosses by Hornschuch, the Cyperacee and Acanthacee by Nees, the Smilacee and Dioscoree by | Grisebach, several smaller families of Monocotyledons by Seubert, the Solanacee by Sendtner, the Verbenacee by Schauer, the Piperacee and Urticeg by Miquel, the Podostemonee by Tulasne, the Polygonez, Thy- - melee, and Proteacee by Meisner. These authors are frequently the same as have treated these very families in the ‘ Prodromus ;’ for which reason, the plates and descriptions of the Flora explain the Prodromus, _ and the latter is a brief summary, in which the Brazilian species аге - better harmonized with those of other lands. Science profits by this
VOL. IX. с
10 THE HERBARIUM OF THE
simultaneous proceeding, and the more, as the same divisions and names being published in the two works, an increased notoriety is the consequence, and they mutually confirm and give authority to each other. The ‘ Flora of Brazil’ contains, besides purely botanical descriptions and plates, some very interesting articles, by M. Martius, on the vege- tation of different parts of that empire, with lithographed plates, which aptly illustrate the features of the principal regions, and the more strik- ing spots. Latin is not ill-suited for describing a country, remarkable for the plants which are named in that language: and when this learned tongue is managed by an author who loves it and who uses it without pedantry, we come to look back with regret to the period when this . universal language prevailed in science. x . (То be continued.)
Notes on the HERBARIUM of the CALCUTTA BoTANIC GARDEN, with especial reference to the completion of the FLORA INDICA; dy THOMAS Tuomson, M.D., F.R.S., Supt. H. C. Bot. Garden.
(Read before the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.)
It is probably known to all the members of the Asiatic Society who are interested in the science of Botany, that Dr. Hooker and myself have undertaken the publication of a complete work on Indian plants, the first volume of which, under the title of * Flora Indica,’ was pub- lished last year. The continuation and completion of this work is of the utmost importance to the advancement of Indian Botany, which is much retarded by the want of a properly digested catalogue. The further progress of the work will however in a great measure depend on the co-operation of botanists throughout India, the materials here, though extensive, being too incomplete, to enable me to advance with- out further contributions. .
I bring this subject before the Asiatic Society therefore with a double object. I wish in the first place to make known the nature and extent of the Herbarium belonging to the Garden; and in the second, by means of the Society and the Journal, to bring to the knowledge of botanists in all parts of India the assistance which it is in their power to render, in furthering the progress of a work, the object of which is to render available to the student of Indian plants information scattered over a thousand detached works, and therefore only accessible to the professional botanist.
CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 11
The Calcutta Botaric Garden is associated almost with the com- mencement of modern Indian Botany. The classic work of old Rheede, who, two centuries ago, illustrated a series of drawings, often remarkable for their fidelity, by a condensation of all the facts obtain- able from the most intelligent Brahmins of Malabar, belongs to a former epoch, and stands alone. It was for many years almost the only source from which botanists could know Indian plants, and even now we have in many cases to refer to its plates instead of to nature for the types of the genera of the older botanists.’
Modern Indian Botany began with the Danish missionaries of Southern India, who were attracted to the science, in the first instance, by the benevolent wish to combine the practice of the healing art with the duties to which they had devoted themselves. This motive actuated the whole body, but a few continued to prosecute the science for its own sake, and some of the medical officers of the Madras Presidency formed with them a botanical association, by which plants were examined and named, and to which the discoveries made by members at a distance were reported. One of the most distinguished of these associates was William Roxburgh, who was appointed in 1794, on the death of Colonel Kyd, the Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, and commenced at once the labours which have gained for him a position - at the head of Indian Botany, of which indeed, as the author of the first Flora, he may, in one sense, be said to be the founder.
During a long series of years Roxburgh examined, described, and prepared drawings of the indigenous plants of India. In all possible cases he cultivated them in the garden under his own eye and examined them carefully in all stages of growth. ‘The descriptions, which are remarkable for their accuracy, by degrees took the shape of a Flora Indica, comprising all the plants of the Northern Cirears (in which Roxburgh resided before he came to Bengal), those of Bengal proper, — and such of the plants of Silhet and Chittagong as were introduced by active collectors into the Gardens and flowered there. It is therefore a nearly complete Flora of the plains of India from the base of the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, and contains descriptions of most of the plants which a botanist will meet with in the neighbourhood of the presidency towns or the large stations.
The drawings, more than 2000 in number, were made in duplicate. de One set is in the Garden Library, the other, with corresponding numbers,
`
12 THE HERBARIUM OF THE
is in the India House. A selection of 300 of the more remarkable forms was published in England by Sir Joseph Banks, at the expense of the Court of Directors, and outlines of many others have been in- troduced by Dr. Wight into his ‘Icones Plantarum.’ The species described by Dr. Roxburgh in the “Flora Indica’ can, in general, be readily determined from these drawings, so that there is less occasion than might have been expected to regret the absence of dried specimens. Dr. Roxburgh probably collected largely. He certainly transmitted considerable collections to scientific bodies in Europe, but most of these have been dispersed; there are however a considerable number of his specimens in the British Museum, at the Linnean Society, and the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Roxburgh was succeeded at the Botanic Garden by Dr. Francis Buchanan, afterwards Hamilton, a man to whom extensive travel had given great knowledge of India. In the Peninsula he had explored the Carnatic, Mysore, Malabar, and Canara, and in Bengal, the Raj- mahal Hills, and the whole of the northern and eastern districts, as far as Assam and Tippera. He had also visited Nipal. The botanical re- sults of these journeys have been unfortunately, in a great measure, lost, but many important facts are recorded in his commentaries on the ‘Hortus Malabaricus’ of Rheede, and the ‘ Herbarium Amboynense’ of Rumph, two memoirs in which Hamilton has embodied a great deal of valuable information on Indian Botany. His collections form part of the Herbarium of the University of Edinburgh. š
In 1815 the Botanic Garden came into the hands of Dr. Wallich, an ardent and enthusiastic botanist, under whom Indian Botany con- tinued to progress rapidly. The labours of Roxburgh had completed the flora of the plains of India, though the work remained still in MSS. Dr. Wallich took a wider range. Our recent war in Nipal having re- sulted in the appointment of a Resident at the Court of Katmandú, Wallich joined Mr. Gardner there, and collected assiduously for more than a year in the vicinity of the capital. Тһе interior was then, as now, jealously closed against European travellers, but by means of native collectors he added a fair knowledge of the alpine flora to the abundant information regarding that of the temperate and tropical regions, which he obtained by his personal exertions. - Dr. Wallich's duties at the Gardens not permitting him to prolong his residence at Katmandú indefinitely, he trained a number of col-
CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 13
lectors, who continued, during a long series of years, to transmit dried specimens from Nipal. Mr. Blinkworth, an active collector, at the same time explored Kumaon, and Mr. Gomez contributed extensive collections from the rich province of Silhet, and from the neighbouring Khasia hills, while Wallich himself visited Penang and Singapore, thus adding a knowledge of the Malayan Flora to that of the rest of India.
Abundant materials for the elucidation of the Botany of India hav- ing thus been brought together, it became a question in what manner they might be disposed of to most advantage. Dr. Wallich at one time entertained the idea of incorporating them into an Indian Flora, and with this object he commenced the publication of an edition of Roxburgh’s * Flora,’ into which all his own discoveries were introduced. As his collections accumulated, this task became every day more diffi- cult, and his other duties, and in particular the state of his health, rendered its progress extremely slow, and at last compelled him to stop, after publishing two volumes, which extend as far as the end of Pentandria Monogynia in the Linnean arrangement, and include there- fore the first volume of the ordinary edition of Roxburgh, or less than one-third of the whole work.
Dr. Wallieh then determined to return to England with all his col- lections, and with the consent of the Court of Directors, which was at once liberally accorded, to distribute amongst scientific men, in all parts of Europe, the materials which he had accumulated, but could not hope to have leisure to work into shape, in the hope that each re- cipient would be able to lend his aid to the study of some part, so that by the joint labour of all, the Indian Flora might be benefited and fur- thered. The result has been satisfactory. The dispersion of the Wal- lichian Herbarium over all parts of Europe, enabled students of Botany everywhere to obtain access to a set of these specimens, and monogra- phers have, in describing them, uniformly quoted the numbers attached ` {о the specimens, The Wallichian Herbarium has therefore become one of the foundations of Indian Botany, and it is a source of regret to me that a set of its specimens does not form a part of our collection here. Steps have recently been taken which will, I hope, remedy the deficiency, as several duplicate sets still exist in the Linnean Society's collection. : x _ Those only can appreciate the difficulties with which Dr. Wallich — had to contend in this distribution, who have had much practice in the —
14 NEW GENERA AND SPECIES
arrangement of dried plants, and are familiar with the irksome task of assorting the miscellaneous collections sent in by numerous collectors, variously ticketed, and often in great confusion. A quick eye and a ready hand bring the species together, but constant watchfulness is even more essential, in order to prevent errors in localities, the greatest evil to which we are exposed in arranging large collections. It is therefore not at all surprising that Dr. Wallich should have occupied four years in this task, and yet been compelled to return to India be- fore it was completed. -
Between 1815 and 1828 a large and valuable series of botanical drawings was prepared under Dr. Wallich’s superintendence. These he took to England with him, and they are deposited at the India House, but as no copies were made, we do not, as in the case of the Roxburghian drawings, possess a corresponding set. From among these drawings, Dr. Wallich selected 300 of the most interesting, which were published under the title of * Plante Asiaticre Rariores,’ a superb work, alike honourable to the Court and to the author.
(To be continued.)
Nova GENERA et SPECIES aliquot rariores in Plagis AUSTRALIA INTRATROPICIS nuperrime detecta, exposuit DR. F. MUELLER.
(Continuation of Notes on North Australian Botany, by Dr. F. Mueller, Jrom vol. viii. p. 331.)
THALAMIFLORA. BOMBACES.
Adansonia Gregorii ; foliolis 4-9 petiolulo orbatis subtus cano-velutinis,
ealyce in lacinias 2-4 fere basi tenus rumpente, pedunculis rectis, petalis 5 raro paucioribus oblongo-cuneatis in basin longe angustatis liberis, stylo stamina demum paulo excedente recto basin versus dense tomentoso, antheris subcordatis, stigmatibus 5-8 barbatis, capsula ovata vel pyriformi exsulca.
Has. In planitiebus orariis et ripariis ad flumina Victoria et Fitz- ‘maurice, ad promontorium Point Pearce alibique.
Gouty-stem Tree, dil. Cunn. in King's Survey, App. p. 25. Stokes, Discov. in Australia. ;
OF NORTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. 15
CocHLOSPERMES.
Cochlospermum Леѓелолетит ; arborescens, foliis reniformi-cordatis sinuato-3—5-lobulatis utrinque cum petiolis pedunculis ramulisque velutinis, filamentis seriei extimee inferioribus 7—11 declinatis subu- latis, ceteris capillari-filiformibus.
Нав. In collibus planitiebusque siccis prsesertim lapidosis, ad flumen Victoria, in tractu M‘Adam’s Range aliisque locis.
Bombax sp., Stokes, Disc. in Austr. Cochlospermum Gossypium, Leichhardt, Overland Expedition, passim.
CAPPARIDE.
ROEPERIA, n. g.—Sepala 4, lanceolato-linearia, longe acuminata, de- cidua, posticum columnam suffulciens. Petala 4, imo toro inserta, elongato-oblonga, unguiculata, unilateraliter versa, integerrima, de- cidua, 2 exteriora angustiora. Stamina 5 vel 7. Filamenta unilate- ralia, inferne inter se et cum stipite germinis connata, superne libera, interiora longiora, altius connata. uthere biloculares, basifixee, mox revolute, deciduz, loculis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Germen longe stipatum, uniloculare. Gemmule juxta placentas intervalvu- lares geminas numerose, amphitrope. Stylus filiformis, elongatus. Stigma minutum, semiglobosum. Capsula siliqueeformis, longe sti- pata, uniloeularis, bivalvis, valvis a replo persistente seminifero sece- dentibus. Semina numerosa, reniformi-ovata, transverse rugosa, strophiolo inferne hippocrepico superne compresso semiamplexa, ex- albuminosa. Cotyledones incumbentes.—Herba Australie intratro- pice annua, glandulosa, Cleomis facie; folis 3-5-foliolatis, ezstipu- latis, foliolis angusto-lanceolatis integerrimis; pedunculis aillaribus et terminalibus, solitariis, unifforis ; corollis magnis, luteis.—Genus ad Gynandropsin accedens, Roeperam, Adr. Juss., ad Zygophyllum retuli in * Linnea,’ хху. p. 374. Ес
В. cleomoides. _ gili
Нав. In plaga elevata arenoso-rupestri secus partes fluvii Victoriæ necnon Wickhami australiores.
BUETTNERIACEX.
Seringia nephrosperma ; foliis cordato- vel oblongo-ovatis obtusis supra. velutinis glabrescentibus subtus tomentosis repandis vel subsinuatis,
16 NEW GENERA AND SPECIES
calycis 4—5-partiti lobis subcordatis obtusissimis, petalis nullis, fila- mentis germen vix zequantibus, carpidiis 1—2-spermis apteris, semi- nibus reniformibus levibus strophiolo perminuto przditis, embryone hemicyclico.
Has. In eremo pone originem fluvii Victorie sicut juxta rivum Sturt’s Creek.
CALYCIFLOR E, PoRTULACEA.
TRIGASTROTHECA, n. g.—Sepala 5, persistentia, mutica, margine mem- branacea, eestivatione imbricata. Petala nulla. Stamina 4—5, hypo- купа. Filamenta e lata basi lineari-subulata, libera, sepalis alterna. Anthere ovate, dorso insertz, biloculares, loculis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Discus hypogynus nullus. Germen triloculare, libe- rum, loculis bi-tri-gemmulatis. Gemmule funiculis brevissimis an- gulo centrali affixe. Styli 3, filiformes. Capsula membranacea, irigastra, apice triloba, trilocularis, indehiscens, irregulariter rumpens, leviter inflata, loculis 1-2-spermis. Semina reniformia; testa crus- tacea, granulata. Jmbryo hippocrepicus, albumen farinaceum fere omnino cingens.—Herba Australie centralis glabra, dichotoma ; foliis linearibus oppositis vel pseudo-verticillatis; floribus umbellatis—Genus Mollugini cognatum.
T. molluginea.
Has. In planitiebus apricis т subsalinis ad rivum Sturt’s Creek.
EUPHORBIACEJ£.
PETALOSTIGMA, n. g.— Flores dioici, apetali.— Mas. Sepala 4—6, im- bricata, exteriora ovata, interiora longiora suborbicularia. Filamenta numerosa, in columnam conico-cylindraceam villoso-tomentosam coalita. AÆniheræ biloculares, oblongz, basi emarginata insertz, loculis connectivo breviter excurrente omnino adnatis longitudina- liter dehiscentibus.—F«M. Sepala 6, in tubulum conniventia, imbri- cata, exteriora lanceolata interioribus ovatis acuniiWatis longiora. Stylus trifidus. Stigmata petaloidea, obcordato-cuneata, erosa, cris- pata. Drupa subglobosa, 8- raro 6-costulata, cetera levis, 4- raro 3-loeularis. Pericarpium carnosum, demum secedens. Putamen dempto pericarpio loculicide 4- raro 3-valvatum, valvis osseis longi-
OF NORTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. 24
tudinaliter septicide dissilientibus. Semina in loculis bina, abortu solitaria, pendula, strophiolata.— Frutex vel arbuscula Australie tropice, non lactescens ; foliis alternis, subcoriaceis, ovatis vel suborbi- culatis, integerrimis, subtus sericeis, denique tomentellis ; floribus axil- laribus, masculis umbellatis, foemineis solitariis ; drupis nauseoso- amaris, rufis, Dromaie Nove-Hollandie jucundis.—Genus distinc- tissimum Z/aferiospermo et Ostode aliquot notis propinquum, aliis presertim fructu tetramero ad Plukenetiam approximans.
P. quadriloculare.
Has. Frequens in tractu steriliore tam littorali quam interiore Au- stralie borealis.
Severn-tree, Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, passim.
ELacnocrorton, п. g.—Flores monoici, apetali, bracteolati, glandulis duabus suffulti. Masculi spicati, 3-sepali ; filamenta sepalis alterna, libera. Anthere reniformi-cordatz, loculis parallelis poro infra- apicali. apertis. Flores femine? ad basin spice mascule solitarii, pedicellati. Sepala З. Capsula tricocca, coccis dorso bifarie echi- nulato-tuberculatis monospermis. Semina pendula, strophiolata.— Herba Australie tropice ; foliis alternis stipulatis lanceolatis serrulato- scabris ; spicis terminalibus gracillimis.—Genus Microstachye affine.
E. asperococeum.
Has. In locis sterilioribus ad flumen Victorize.
Leptonema melanthesioides ; fruticosum, glabrum, foliis ovatis йй; D. multoties longioribus integerrimis vel subrepandis, umbellis dioicis sessilibus multifloris, pedicellis bracteolas pluries superantibus, flori- bus 5-sepalis, masculis pentandris, stylo sterili bipartito, foemineis trigynis, capsula depresso-globosa tricocea.
Нав. Secus flumen Victoriæ frequens.
BAR, oi pna
XaNTHOsTEMON, n. g.—Flores umbelluloso-corymbosi. "e
биз ecostatus, hemisphericus, basi cum germine connatus, | limbus
superus 5-partitus, laciniis persistentibus deltoideo- usculis. Corolle petala 5, calycis laciniis alterna, annulo perigyno
staminifero extus inserta, decidua. Stamina 15-19, uniseriata, omnia
fertilia, libera. Filamenta longe exserta, filiformia. Anthere ovato: d
cordatz, basifixee, loculis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus, ‘connectivo
glandulaceo dorso Mm - Stylus stamina paulo весе ко.
VOL. TK. T
18 NEW GENERA AND SPECIES 3
formis. Stigma simplex. Germen inferne calyci adnatum, superne liberum. Capsula chartacea, calyce soluto libera, fere supera !, glo- bosa, pericarpio :sieco corticata, bi-tricocca. Pericarpium. secedens, demum in valvas coccis alternas medio dissepimentum obliteratum - gerentes rumpens. Cocci loculicide bivalves, polyspermi. PLACENTJE axillares. Semana compressa, angulata, aptera.—Arbor; foliis i» apice ramulorum opposite confertis, ovatis, minutim glandulosis, penni- nerviis, reticulato-venulosis, umbellulis corymbosis terminalibus, pedi- cellis basi bibracteolatis, staminibus aureis.— Genus Meterosidero proximum.
X. paradozus.
Has. In collibus petreis ad flumina Victoria et Fitzmaurice.
UMBELLIFER Ж.
HEMICARPUS, n. g.— Flores hermaphroditi. Calycis tubus compressus, limbus inzequalis, in mericarpio fertili subnullis, in sterili dentes duos subulatos jugis lateralibus continuos formans. Petala 5, ovata, sequa- lia, sessilia, apice non inflexa. Stamina 5, breviter exserta. Styli longiusculi, filiformes, divergentes, basi non incrassati. Mericarpia disparia, alterum fertile, oblique ovatum, a latere plano-compressum demum secedens, evittatum, seriato-tuberculatum, 5-jugum; jugis levibus, commissuralibus crassiusculis, lateralibus tenuioribus curvi- lineis, dorsali carinam efformante vel alato. Semen valde compres- sum. Meriocarpium alterum abortivum, carpophoro indiviso adna- tum, persistens, diminutum ad clavellam lineari-trigonam tuberculis destitutam stylo persistente terminatam.— Genus persingulare meri- carpio altero obliterato, habitu Didisco affinitate quoque Dimetopiz accedens.
Н. didiscoides; caulibus glabris, foliis radicalibus 3—5-sectis vel 3—5- fidis, laciniis late cuneatis antice dentatis petiolo parcius hirsutis, foliis caulinis dissectis vel laciniatis, superioribus setaceis przeter basin glabris, involucri foliolis 10—16 indivisis glabris pedicellis fructiferis brevioribus, petalis flavidis, mericarpiis pedicello #qui- longis, fertili carinato.
Has. In campis subarenosis ad flumen Victoriz ostium versus necnon ad montem Providence Hill.
H. villosus; dense hirsuto-villosus, foliis inferioribus 3—5-sectis parti- tisve, laciniis subcuneatis utplurimum bi-trifidis argute et grosse den-
^
OF NORTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. 19
tatis, foliis summis linearibus indivisis acutissimis, involucri foliolis numerosis setaceis pedicellos fructiferos sequantibus, petalis albis, mericarpiis pedicello brevioribus, fertili secus carinam alato.
Нав. In collibus arenoso-rupestribus ad rivum Sturt’s Creek raris- simus.
COMPOSITÆ.
DIODONTIUM, n. g.—Capitulum 8-10-florum, homogamum, discoideum, involucri oligophylli sguame@ subbiseriatz, distinctze, exteriores bre- viores. Receptaculum planiuseulum epaleatum. Flores omnes herma- phroditi equales. Corolle tubulosee 5-dentate. Anthere semiexsertze ecaudatz. Stigmata iu appendicem subulatam papilloso-hispidulam desinentia. Achenia cuneato-obovata compressa uninervia dorso subconvexa, aristulis 2 divergentibus summo apice retro aculeolatis terminata, ala lutea incurva glabra rigida integerrima aucta.—Frutex Australie borealis interioris gracilis graveolens glaberrimus strictus Sastigiato-ramosus, foliis oppositis vel fasciculatis filiformibus ; capitulis terminalibus solitariis fastigiato-paniculatis ; floribus luteis ; acheniis lucidis, involucrum superantibus.—Genus e Verbesinearum tribu dis- tinctissimum. :
D. filifolium.
Has. In collibus graniticis neenon in plaga elevata petræa arenoso-
` rupestri (sandstone table-land) inter flumen Victoria et Sturt’s Creek. ;
CorEocowa, п. g.— Capitulum multiflorum, heterogamum. Involu- crum subovatum, squamis enerviis appresso-imbricatis, exterioribus subrotundis cuspidato-mucronulatis, mediis subovatis antice scariosis, interioribus intimisque oblongis linearibusque appendicula brevi la- cero-dentieulata terminatis. Receptaculum planum, alveolatum, epa- leatum. Flores omnes tubulosi, marginales, pauciseriati; fceminei tenuiores, 3—5-dentati, stylo bifido; centrales hermaphroditi, steriles — 5-dentati, stylo indiviso. 00 йеме apice obtuse, basi ecaudatee. Filamenta glabra. Achenia florum marginalium angulato-cylindracea glabra, pappo cylindraceo ! apice lacero corollam longiorem vaginante, Pappi florum centralium palee 8—10 angusto-lineares serrato-sca-
. bride apicem versus paulo dilatatz, inferne in tubulum connate !, corollam sequantes.—Frutex humilis deserti subsalint Australi cen- tralis, dichotomus, glaber, Centaureze facie; foliis lanceolatis argute
20 . NEW GENERA AND SPECIES
dentatis sessilibus; capitulis terminalibus alaribusque solitariis sessili- bus; corollis roseis.—Genus Centaurineis adnumerandum.
С. Centaurea.
Has. In planitiebus subsalinis passim inundatis argillaceis necnon secus ripas rivulorum subsalinorum ad Sturt’s Creek.
LEGUMINOS#.
OXYCLADIUM, n. g.—Cualyz bilabiatus, basi attenuatus, minute bibrac- teolatus, labio supero bifido, inferiore longiore tripartito. Corolla Legumen rhombeo-ovatum, inflatum, stylo persistente subun- cinato-rostratum, stipitatum, longitudinaliter secus suturam superam semiseptatum, monospermum. Semina estrophiolata, nephroideo- ovata, ope funiculi brevis semisepto affixa.— Frutex Australie tro- pice interioris Daviesiz facie, aphyllus ; ramis spinescentibus ; pedun- culis lateralibus unifloris solitariis cum basi ramulorum unibracteatis.
0. semiseptatenit,
Has. In plagis elevatis rupestribus inter flumina Victoria River and Sturt’s Creek.
NEMATOPHYLLUM, n. g.—Calyx profunde bilabiatus, nudus, labio su- periore complicato-lanceolato acuminato indiviso; inferiore vix lon- giore trifido; laciniis lateralibus lanceolatis acuminatis media longe aeutata canaliculata duplo brevioribus. Vexillum ovatum, ecallosum, integrum, carinam paululum alas duplo superans, quibuscum breviter unguiculatum. ¿e curvato-oblonge, basi appendiculate. Carine imberbis obtusiusculz petala inferne soluta, basi auriculata. Stamina 10, ultra medium monadelpha, tubo antice fisso. Anthere oblonge, conformes. Siylus glaber, filiformis. Stigma minutum, simplex. Germen stipatum, pauciovulatum. Legumina compressa, unilocularia, dehiscentia, lanceolato-ovata, in stipitem attenuata, 2—-8-sperma. Se-
“mina strophiolata.— Frutex altior Australis borealis gracillimus, gla-
brescens ; foliis simplicibus, alternis, confertis, cum petiolo longiore filiformibus et subcontinuis subuncinato-mucronulatis, minutim stipula- tis; pedunculis longis, awillaribus, solitariis, unifloris, subracemosis, apice bibracteolatis ; floribus breviter crassoque pedicellatis ; corollis luteis.—Genus in tribu Lotearum insigne, habitu Dillwyniis potius simili.
N. Hookeri.
Has. In tractu elevato juxta fluvii Victorie partes altiores et secundum rivum Sturt's Creek.
OF NORTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. 21
Erythrina diloba (Corallodendron) ; ramulis parce aculeatis teretiusculis apice tomentosis cito glabratis, petiolis inermibus filiformibus, inter- nodio inferiore foliolis longiore, foliolis glabris bipartitis! in petiolu- lum brevem angustatis, terminali remoto, laciniis foliolorum diver- gentibus elongatis angusto-oblongis obtusis concoloribus, leguminibus elongato-lanceolatis flexuosis in stipitem angustatis, seminibus reni- formi-oblongis ovatisve concolori-coccineis.
Нав. In collibus planitiebusque graniticis prope originem rivi Sturt's Creek. Flores non visi. |
COROLLIFLORA. ASPERIFOLLE.
. ÑLoBoPHYLLUM, n. g.—alyz 4-partitus!, segmentis lanceolatis inæ- qualibus. Corolla infundibularis, tubo brevi, fauce nuda, limbo bre- vissimo. Stamina 4!, tubo corolle infra medium inserta, inclusa. Anthere subrotunde, biloculares, inter loculos longitudinaliter de- hiscentes ахас. Germen quadrilobum. Stylus brevissimus. Stigma bipartitum, recurvum. Nucule 4, per paria cohzerentes, uniloculares, monospermze, areola orbiculari receptaculo minuto аћхге, trigone, rostellulatee, dorso convex, angulo centrali acute. Semina exalbu- minosa.—Herba perennis Australie centralis humifusa, multicaulis, ramosa ; innovationibus hirsuto-villosis ; foliis alternis, subovatis, ob- tuse crenato-lobatis /, strigulosis ; floribus azillaribus solitariis ebrac- teolatis brevissime pedicellatis, corollis minimis.—Genus tam habitu quam characteribus optime limitatum.
L. tetrandrum.
Has. Cireum lacunas rivi Sturt’s Creek, necnon perraro ad ame a Victorize superioris passim inundatas. *
Halgania solanacea ; suffruticosa, perennis, erecta, pube brevi: et ire sutie patente induta vel tomentosa, foliis ovali-oblongis planis in- tegerrimis in basin angustatis apice obtusis, superioribus sessilibus,
inferioribus petiolatis, corymbis breviter pedunculatis terminalibus —
compositis paucifloris, calycis 5-partiti lobis oblongo-linearibus ob- tusis lacinias coroll angusto-lanceolatas acutiusculas — 5 bus, capsule loculis bilocellatis. | Has. In erema Australie tropice originem ый ушна wen | sicuti ad flumen Sturt’s Creek. x js
22 NEW GENERA AND SPECIES
VERBENACEX.
NEWCASTELIA, n. g.—Calyx æqualiter 5-fidus, laciniis triangularibus
post anthesin valvatim conniventibus. Corolla infundibularis, tubo recto incluso, limbi 5-partiti lobis zequalibus brevibus acuminatis. Stamina 5, equalia, inclusa, corollæ lobis alterna. Filamenta brevis- sima, infra faucem inserta. Anthere dorso affixe, biloculares, loculis parallelis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Germen 4-loculare, loculis unigemmulatis. . Stylus filiformis, breviter exsertus. Stigma emar- ginatum. Drupa sicca globosa, calyce arcte obtecta, 4-locularis, 4- sperma, basi foraminulis 2 confluentibus intrusa, axi non hiante. Semina erecta, exalbuminosa.— Frutex eremam Australie australis inhabitans, hirsutie ramosa tomentosus ; foliis oppositis, lanceolatis, sessilibus ; spicis terminalibus, bracteatis, villis calycis corollam ceru- leam occultantibus.—Genus illustrissimo et prenobilissimo Duci de Newcastle, sub eujus ministerio expeditio pro plagarum Australice interioris exploratione emissa, grata et pia mente tributum, affinitate Pithyrodie et Mallophore proxime connexum.
N. eladotricha.
Has. In erem: virgultis prope partem Australem rivi Sturt’s Creek.
MONOCHLAMYDEZX. PROTEACER.
Helicia Australasica ; arborescens, glabra, foliis tenui-coriaceis lanceo- lato-ovatis integerrimis vel obscure paucidentatis planis, racemis spi- ceformibus elongatis aureis. cernuis denique nutantibus, glandulis hypogynis liberis, germine tomentoso sessili, stigmate apice truncato.
Has. Ad rivulorum ripas in vicinitate montium M*Adam's Range.
Folia ut plurimum 2—3” longa, 13-2” lata, basi seepissime cuneato- contracta, perbreviter petiolata. Styius semiuncialis.
Grevillea Alphonsiana (Cycloptera?); arborescens, ramulis teretibus velutinis, foliis indivisis lineari-ensiformibus planis crasso-coriaceis sensim in petiolum brevem angustatis sphacelato-acuminatis uniner- viis aveniis utrinque puberulis, racemis elongatis spiciformibus sub- panieulatis velutino-tomentosis centripetis, calycibus pedicello duplo longioribus intus cum pistillo semiunciali glabris, germine sessili, stigmate oblique terminali late ovato centro elevato, glandula hypo- gyna nigrescente conspicua, capsulis .
OF NORTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS. 23
Has. In deserto Australie centralis, e. g. ad partes Australis rivi Sturt's Creek, lat. 19—90° austr.
Arbuscula habitu fere Hakee arborescentis. Folia pleraque 4—5" longa, 23-3” lata, dilute viridia, plus minus curvata. Cicatrices ovato-cordate, punctis vascularibus zequidistantibus. Racemi in- ferne in racemulos plures divisi, undique cano-tomentosi nec unquam ferruginei. Calyces circiter 4" longi, intus flavi.— Species G. poly- stachye et С. Sturtii finitima summa cum veneratione Alphonso de Candolleo dicata.
‚ Grevillea polybotrya (Cycloptera) ; arborescens, ramulis teretibus ap- presso-puberulis, foliis indivisis vel bi-trifidis v. pinnato-quinquefidis subsessilibus supra glabris subtus sericeis prominenter trinerviis margine recurvis, segmentis elongato-linearibus acutis sphacelato- ` mucronulatis integerrimis, racemis elongatis confertis dense multifloris centripetis, calycibus extus cum stylo germine pedicellis rachibusque glabris intus infra medium tenuissime puberulis pedicello triplo longioribus, stylo longe exserto, germine stipato, glandula hypogyna conspieua, stigmate oblique terminali longe umbonato, capsulis sub- rotundis leviter compressis lignescentibus levibus, seminibus orbi- culari-ovatis, ala semine triplo angustiore eique concolori.
Has. Ad basin montium M‘Adam’s Range in locis lapidosis.
Folia 6—9” longa. Racemi paucipollicares, albidi. Fructus uncia bre- viores, non valde lignosi. Semina sordide cano-fusca.—G. cerato- phylle propinqua.
Hakea chordophylla ; arborescens, glabra, ramulis teretibus levibus pruinosis, foliis prelongis teretibus indivisis exsulcis acutis, cicatri- cibus late ovatis, punctis vascularibus zequidistantibus: medio cen- trali, racemis exinvolucratis patentibus flore cum pedicello fere triplo longioribus, bracteis caducissimis, calycibus pedicello parum longio- ribus extus intusque cum pedicello glabris, stylo longe exserto, glan-
dula hypogyna crassa ovato-hippoerepica, T “mane tnis x
late ovato centro umbonato, capsulis . Has. In Novæ-Hollandiæ centralis siii arenosis prope remotissimas
- partes fluminis Sturt’s Creek.
Folia pleraque pedalia. Racemi pedunculati, multiflori. Calyces vix semunciales. Stylus addito germinis stipite circiter 10” qe - Habitu Z. longifolia, All. Cunn. |
24 ; BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
THYMELEÆ.
Pimelea ammocharis ; fruticosa, dichotome ramosissima, foliis dense imbricatis utrinque cano-sericeis angusto-lanceolatis acutis sessilibus subconcavis, floralibus caulinis conformibus capitula ut plurimum pauciflora æquantibus, floribus dioicis extus sericeis, masculis tubo inarticulato limbi lacinias ovatas fere triplo superante, filamentis inclusis, floribus fæmineis infra medium dense patentimque villosis
_ superne sericeis, stylo incluso.
Has. In plagis arenosis ad rivum Sturt Australis centralis.
Frutex patens, paucipedalis, rarius simpliciter ramosus et stricte erectus. Катий villoso-sericei. Folia decidua, 2—4" longa, 1—12" lata. Flores lutei. |
: (To be continued.)
x
BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
_ Proposed Establishment (or Restoration) of an AGRICULTURAL and Hor- TICULTURAL GARDEN аё BANGALORE, in the Madras Presidency.
The pages of this Journal have borne witness on several occasions to the very active exertions in the cause of Botany and Horticulture —especially the practical and economic departments of Botany—of Dr. Cleghorn, the able Professor of Botany at Madras; and we are not without hope that at his recommendation a Government Garden will be formed at ` Bangalore, in the territory of Mysore, elevated about 3000 feet above the level of the sea, in what may be considered “ one of the finest climates in India, being cool and pleasant throughout the greater part of the year. The gardens produce the usual vegetables of Europe in great abundance, and the products of the flower-gardens are remarkably varied, vivid, and luxuriant.” (Thornton’s ‘ Gazetteer of India.’) Such is the spot judiciously selected by Dr. Cleghorn; and the following arguments in its favour are extracted from a published letter in an Indian newspaper, addressed by that gentleman to the Government Secretary, Fort St. George, dated August. 30th, 1856 .—
“Some years since (1839) an Agri-Horticultural Society was esta- blished at Bangalore, under the auspices of the Commissioner, who
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 25
made the Lall Bagh over to them, and afforded other assistance in the way of convict labour, ete. Та all other respects the society was sup- ported by private contributions ; but the constantly fluctuating number of subscribers, the frequent departure of valued supporters, and other similar causes, led to the dissolution of the society in 1842, and the Garden was then restored to the Commissioner. Since that period little has of course been done to it, beyond keeping the walks clean, etc. There are however some fine trees, such as West India "Tamarinds, Moreton Bay Chesnuts, Olives from the Levant, two Spanish Oaks, Garcinias, which an able superintendent may turn to good account for ornamental purposes.
“The question of site having thus been disposed of, the next point is the establishment requisite. From my experience in connection with the Madras Gardens, and the results on the Neilgherries, which have followed: Mr. M‘Ivor’s employment, I have no hesitation in declaring that the entertainment of a skilful and practical European Superinten- dent is indispensable. The object in view is, not merely to improve the culture of indigenous productions, but at the same time to naturalize exotics, and prepare both for introduction in the plains. For such purposes, European skill and ability, both theoretical aud practical, are essentially necessary; I would therefore propose that a person like Mr. Jaffrey, now Superintendent at Madras, should be entertained on a salary of 150 rupees per mensem, with a suitable residence in the Gardens or their immediate neighbourhood. An excellent house might be built, I should suppose, for about 2000 rupees, or one might be rented for 30 rupees or 40 rupees per mensem; but I should advise building in the Garden in preference to renting at a distance, as the con- stant presence of the Superintendent is a matter of great importance.
- “The expense proposed would be altogether a monthly grant of 300 rupees, and a single grant of about 2000 rupees, exclusive of the sum required for the possession of a house for the Superintendent. - . “Аз to management, the Garden, the Superintendent, and every person connected with it should be under the immediate and exclusive | control of the Commissioner, whose decision and orders must be in all cases final. Any other course would only be attended with embarrass- ment, and no other is so likely to ensure the success of the under- - taking. The Commissioner will probably find it convenient to place the immediate superintendence of the Garden under the charge of some
VOL. IX. :
26 BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
of his subordinates, either singly or as a committee. The superinten- dent of the Bangalore division, the secretary, and the surgeon for the time being, would be willing and able to relieve him of details; but this of course is a matter for the consideration of the Commissioner.
“I propose that the Bangalore Garden should be a Government establishment, solely under the Commissioner, who will have no diffi- culty in framing a few simple rules for the guidance of the Superinten- dent, who will of course require a reasonable degree of freedom in which to exercise his talents and experimentalize; but he must distinctly un- derstand his position of entire subordination to the Commissioner.
“The great objects in view are the improvement of indigenous pro- duets—the introduction of exoties—the supply of these to the hills and plains when acclimatized, and the exhibition to the people of an improved system of cultivation in praetieal and successful operation. Seeds and plants should invariably be sold at a fair price to all appli- cants, but none should be given gratuitously, except for publie pur- poses, and then only with the Commissioner's approval. By public purposes, I mean not merely for those of Government, as plantations, avenues, etc., but for distribution to scientific persons for experiment, to public institutions, ete. After providing for the Bangalore Garden, those of Madras and Ootacamund should be considered entitled to the preference (which of course will be mutual), and exchanges should be arranged with Caleutta and other Gardens,
“ Tn conclusion, it appears to me that the advantages to Southern India, generally arising from the Garden in contemplation, promise to be very great, if the scheme be carried out under the superintendence of a competent person, permanently appointed to the charge. There can be no doubt that the climate is highly favourable, and the soil ca- pable of producing the best description of many vegetable products. Bangalore is much better suited for agricultural and hortieultural expe- riments than either Ootacamund or Madras, and from its central posi- tion and intermediate elevation the finer kinds of vegetables and better sorts of graft-trees may be disseminated with great success to the neigh- bouring ranges of hills."
To this letter there has happily been a favourable response, in the Government * Order thereon, dated 15th September, 1856," as follows :—
* [n his Review, under date 28th March last, of the Report on the
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 27
Government Gardens at Ootacamund for 1853-55, Dr. Cleghorn, Pro- fessor of Botany, suggested the establishment of a Garden in a situation which would form a connecting link between the Gardens at Madras and Ootacamund. He observed, * 1. The difference of temperature between the Neilgherry hills and the Carnatic plains is so great, that I fear many valuable plants acclimatized in the former would not succeed if at once transplanted to the latter, and I would therefore suggest that Govern- ment should propose to a Commissioner at Mysore the establishment of a garden, under skilled superintendence, at Bangalore. The Govern- ment of Madras need not have any control over this Garden, for the management of which the Commissioner would no doubt arrange. All that is necessary is, that these institutions should be considered parts of one system, and that each should have the preference over private ` parties to the productions of the others. There would be no difficulty in arranging this matter, and I think the plan holds out the best hope of introducing into the Presidency generally many valuable plants.’
“2. Dr. Cleghorn’s review was communicated by this Government ,
to the Commissioner of Mysore with the remark that they considered the proposal for the formation of an intermediate Garden at Bangalore to be highly deserving of adoption, and likely to lead to very valuable re- sults. The review, and the observations of Government thereon, were also submitted to the Government of India. . “3. The Commissioner of Mysore entered warmly into the scheme, and at his suggestion Dr. Cleghorn was requested to visit Bangalore and to confer with General Cubbon upon the establishment of the pro- posed Garden, taking advantage of the time when Mr. Jaffrey, super- intendent of the Agri-Horticultural Garden at Madras, was at Banga- lore, on his return from the Neilgherries to Madras.
* 4. In the letter above recorded Dr. Cleghorn reports the result of his visit to Bangalore and consultation with General Cubbon, as well as with Mr. Jaffrey. The issue is altogether satisfactory. An eligible site with good soil and command of water has been selected on the Lall Bagh. Dr. Cleghorn describes the arrangements and establish- ment that he would recommend. The Madras Government do not dis- cuss these in detail, as they are rather subjects for the consideration of the Commissioner, and for submission by him to the Government of India; In forwarding the report to Lieutenant-General Sir Mark x Cubbon, they would therefore only express in general terms their entire
28 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
approval of Dr. Cleghorn’s propositions and their willingness to со- operate with the Commissioner in any measures calculated either to
facilitate the formation of the Garden or to ensure its success when established.”
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
PLANTA INDIE BATAVÆ ORIENTALIS.
We are happy to be able to announce a very important work about to appear in Holland, under the title, ——** Plante Indie Batave Orien- talis quas in itinere per Insulas Archipelagi Indici, Javam, Amboinam, Celebem, Ternatam, aliasque, annis 1815-1822, exploravit Casp. GEO. CAROL. REINWARDT, Agriculture, Artibus Disciplinisque in India Batava Orientali Prefectus, et in Academia Lugduno-Batava Prof. :’— in other words, a ** History of the Plants in the Dutch East Indies dis- covered in an Expedition made for scientifie purposes, in the Islands of Java, Amboina, Celebes, Ternate, etc., in the years 1815 to 1821; by the late Dr. C. G. C. REINWARDT, Commissary for the affairs relating to agriculture, arts, sciences, etc. etc. in the East Indies, and Professor in the University at Leyden:—in 4to, with 40 plates; published by order of His Majesty King William IIL.; by Dr. W. H. DE VRIESE, Professor of Botany in the University of Leyden." :
The following interesting particulars will explain more fully the nature and object of the work, and the truly praiseworthy motives that have led the excellent Dr. De Vriese to undertake its publication.
“The ever-memorable events in the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the nineteenth century, under the dynasty of the illustrious House of Orange, restored to the Netherlands their independence and their rank among the nations of Europe. The new State reacquired its ancient possessions in the East Indies and in America. The spirit of commerce soon assumed a new life. One of the chief cares of the Sovereign Prince William I., shortly after King of the Netherlands, was to regulate all that affected the interests of these Colonies, not only with a view to their government, but particularly with regard to the numerous re- sources which these rich islands of the Archipelago presented to open a
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 29
new career to industry and commerce, on which this generous monarch bestowed an unbounded patronage during a reign of more than a quar- ter of a century. It was more than time to study carefully the nature and productions of these rich countries. It was, in short, necessary to follow the example of other maritime powers who had learned the way to make their colonies the objects of studies eminently useful. How many results might not be promised, for the development of agriculture, manufacture, commerce, navigation; and in. how great a degree these results were to contribute to the prosperity, not only of the mother-country, but also of the Indies themselves! In a word, should not this solid basis given to Dutch activity contribute to illus- trate that happy and memorable period, at which the Netherlands re- covered their rank among nations? The choice of those who were to pave the way in India for this grand enterprise was important, for on the first steps depended in a great degree the successful progress of the measures which were to be adopted. It required a man of intelligence, well-informed, but familiar with the practical application of many sciences ; a man zealous and enterprising, capable of surmounting the difficulties which present themselves in every way somewhat new,—one animated by that devotedness which causes him to seek, on every occa- sion, and at the cost of any efforts, to extend the field of human know- ledge, and to increase the treasure which each generation bequeaths to its successor. “The choice of the Sovereign Prince was fixed on Dr. C. G. C. Rein- wardt, then Professor and Director of the Museum of Natural History at Amsterdam. His Royal Highness commanded this naturalist to accompany their Excellencies the Commissaries-General Messrs. Van der Capellen, Elout, and Buyksen, who were to proceed to the Indies to take possession of the territory, and to regulate the government and the form of the administration. Dr. Reinwardt was to assist them with his advice on all matters respecting public instruction, the culture of the soil, medical service, the introduction of vaccination, the interests of the branches of natural sciences and their technical application, the productions of the three kingdoms of nature, etc. etc. ;—in short, by journeys undertaken with these points in view, he was to commence the necessary investigations in such a manner as should ensure an easy con- tinnation for the future. A similar mission is rare, not to say unique, in the annals of science. Dr. Reinwardt had accorded to him, with a
30 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
liberality truly princely, all that was necessary or useful. He set out in 1815, accompanied by several persons able to second him in his dif- ficult task, among others by Messrs. Bik and Payen, excellent draughts- men, who indeed rendered him important service.
“No one has ever pretended that Dr. Reinwardt did not well acquit himself of his task. I have spoken of it at length in a biography which I have in manuscript and intend to publish. A journey on the island of Java, made with the Commissaries-General, an excursion in the Mo- luccas, long sojourns in the islands of Amboina, Banda, Timor, Celebes, | Ternate, etc., were a part of his travels in the East Indies. During these expeditions Dr. Reinwardt made numerous discoveries in many branches of natural science. They may, in general, be ranged under two heads :—those which specially have reference to the history of the countries, their productions, inhabitants, etc., and those which have reference to Mineralogy, Zoology, and Botany. During his travels Dr. Reinwardt made considerable collections, of which those that do not belong to the vegetable kingdom are placed in the Museum of Natural History at Leyden; such as have escaped the shipwrecks, in which three rich collections, despatched for Holland, were swallowed up. With regard to Dr. Reinwardt’s drawings and notes, they were pre- served, as well as his herbaria, by himself till his death, which took place in March, 1854.
“On his return from his travels in 1822, Dr. Reinwardt found a double task of great importance to fulfil. During his stay at Java, he had been appointed to succeed to the chair vacant by the death of the immortal Brugmans. The duties ofthispost were already too manifold to be laid on one man. The zeal with which Dr. Reinwardt applied himself to them is too well known, but particularly at Leyden, for it to be necessary for us to relate in detail the manner in which he acquitted himself of his academical functions. But, besides, he had to compile a general report of his mission to the Indies. It was expected of the learned naturalist, that he should carefully set in order and study the materials he had collected, and that he should publish an exact and de- tailed account of all his researches. Unfortunately Dr. Reinwardt was not able to satisfy so just an expectation, and in a sense so extended. For many years the Government had the advantage of his intelligence on the gravest questions relating to Colonial affairs. He occasionally made the most interesting communications to the Royal Institute of the
NOTICES OF BOOKS: 31
Netherlands. He communicated his scientific treasures, in a manner the most generous, and often even prodigal and imprudent, to his fel- low-naturalists and scientific connections, leaving to his true friends the bitter regret of not having seen him publish himself the discoveries and precious observations he had made, by which he would have illustrated his name, and at the same time have raised a monument to the honour of the Netherlands.
* However here, as in the Indies, the researches which Dr. Reinwardt, by his instructions, had commenced, were continued with activity. We cannot without injustice pass over the important services rendered with zeal and perseverance by many naturalists, who, after Dr. Reinwardt, have studied the history and nature of our Indian possessions, and by others, to whom their occupations left all the leisure desirable to devote themselves to scientific researches, and to make known to the learned world their own studies or those of Dr. Reinwardt, often without even noticing the name of their author. The view of such an injury, the pressure of numerous public functions, the approach of old-age, must have contributed to distract Dr. Reinwardt from the execution of a great work, of which he had commenced the compilation on a large plan, and of which the manuscript is in my hands.
* After Dr. Reinwardt’s decease, in March, 1854, his family resolved to offer the King all his scientific heritage, that is to say, his herbarium, notes, drawings, etc., on the condition that they should be placed in the Academical Collection of the Botanical Garden, with the care of which I am entrusted. At the same time they expressed a desire that I would publish all in these collections that should be found worthy of being published, either for the advantage of science, or to commemorate the merits and labours of this meritorious naturalist.
“On the proposition of the Minister of the Colonies, Mr. P. Meyer, His Majesty the King has been pleased to entrust me with this honour- able task. во саа
“I propose, then, first to publish, and in this work, the plants that Dr. Reinwardt discovered during his travels in the Indies, and to ex- pose their history, as far as it has not been the object of the researches and publications of other botanists. When we reflect that Messrs. Bennett and Robert Brown have still recently published the plants which Dr. Horsefield discovered in the Island of Java at the commence- ment of this century, we shall not be surprised that the discoveries
32 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
made by Dr. Reinwardt, between 1815 and 1822, on the islands of Celebes, Ternate, Amboina, etc., should be still worthy of being made publie. We nowise doubt that the study by which we propose to pub- lish the botanical researches of Dr. Reinwardt will bring to light a great number of new plants, and contribute to give a better knowledge of the geographical distribution of plants in a portion of the Indian Archipelago yet so little known in its relation to the vegetable kingdom.
“The notes, made on the spot by Dr. Reinwardt, are generally very concise, but they may often guide us in our studies of his plants. We shall everywhere make it a sacred duty to throw out his own views, so that all the honour, all the merit, may return to him to whom they rightly belong.
“ Particular circumstances induce us not to adopt а ийе and syste- matic order of families. At the end of the work will be appended a register, to indicate the pages at which each family is to be found.
“The publication will be in ten numbers, each containing eighty pages of text, in Latin, accompanied by four lithographic plates; price 8 florins of the Netherlands.
* The work will appear so that three numbers shall be published in current year, four more in 1857, and the rest in 1858.
“ I take the liberty to recommend this undertaking to all the friends of science, and beg them to second it with their powerful support.”
“ W. H. DE VRIESE.
** Leyden, September 18, 1856.”
Merrenivs, G.; FILICES LECHLERIAN Æ, Chilenses ac Peruane. 8vo. Leipzig. Thirty pages; three folding Plates. 1856.
Dr. Mettenius has, we believe, succeeded to the Chair of Botany lately occupied by Professor Kunze at Leipzig, and he appears to devote himself to the study of Ferns with the same ardour and success as his able predecessor. The present is one of three works on Ferns of the author, which has just reached our hands; it gives a list of 144 species (including Pseudo-Filices). A few new species are described, and these are accompanied by neatly executed and faithful figures.
с e^
Notes on the HERBARIUM of the Слтсоттл Botanic GARDEN, with especial reference to the completion of the Fora INDICA; by THOMAS Тномзох, M.D., F.R.S., Supt. Н. C. Bot. Garden.
| (Continued from р. 14.)
The commencement of the present Herbarium of the Calcutta Во- tanic Garden dates from Dr. Wallich’s return to India in 1832. Тһе. separate collections of which it is made up having been incorporated together, the following list has been prepared to show the origin of the different parts thus combined into one.
I. Indian Collections.
1. A few specimens from the Carnatic, collected and named by Dr. Rottler and given by him to Dr. Wallich, who brought them with him from Denmark.
2. A complete series of specimens collected and dried in the Bo- tanie Garden. Most of these are ticketed by Dr. Wallich, the collec- tion having undergone careful revision by him after his return from Europe in 1833. |
8. А portion of the collection made іп Khasia and Assam by the Assam Tea Deputation in 1835-36, consisting chiefly of Endogenous and Acrogenous plants. The Exogens of this collection were sent home by orders of the Honourable Court of Directors about four years ago. 4. A large collection from the Khasia Hills made by collectors in Garden employ. This collection contains many duplicates.
5. A very extensive collection, made in Assam by the Garden col- lectors under the able superintendence of Colonel Jenkins, containing a very complete series of plants of the plains and lower hill jungles of Assam, with many duplicates. It contains also a few specimens from — the Bhotan Mountains. ; а. ра 6. і tion made іп the plains lly districts i A very extensive collec ОЛИ e ir
of Upper Assam and in the Naga Mou Mr. asters and presented by him to the Garden. The collection 15 remarkable for
the very careful manner in which the localities are petet upon each
specimen. It contains many rare and valuable plants, numerous
duplicates. i di 7. Colonel Vieary's Indian collections, made in the Sangar. Анин
VOL. IX.
34 THE HERBARIUM OF THE
in Birbhám, Berhampur, Dinajpur, and in the districts of Garhwal, Simla and Kunawar in the Western Himalaya. This collection con- tains few duplicates, and many of the specimens are in a bad state of preservation, but it is very valuable, because the locality of every specimen is carefully marked on a ticket attached to the plant, or written on the sheet of paper in which it is enclosed. The Saugor and Himalayan collections are the best. Both contain many plants which were unknown to botanists at the time these collections were formed, but which have since been discovered by subsequent collectors and published in various works.
8. A small collection of Ceylon plants presented to the Garden by Mr. J. Watson in 1836, contains no duplicates. :
9. Mr. Griffith's collections. —Two complete sets of these most valua- ble collections were sent to England, and are (I believe) in the India House. The triplicates remained with Dr. M‘Clelland during the time that he was occupied in the publication of Mr. Griffith’s posthumous papers, and were transferred by him to my charge in 1856. A small collection, chiefly of Afghan and Malacca plants, has been in the Gar- den Herbarium since 1848. Those received in 1856 consist partly of garden plants selected by Mr. Griffith for himself from the Garden Herbarium, but mainly of more or less complete sets of the collections made by Mr. Griffith on his several journeys. The specimens retain in many cases the original tickets and are carefully numbered. The numbers correspond with those of Griffith’s ‘ Itinerary Notes,’ published by Dr. M‘Clelland. None of the series are complete, but the number of Afghan and Khasia plants is much greater than that of Bhotan or Mishmi ones. There are also a great many excellent specimens from Malacca, and a few from the Coromandel Coast. The collection contains like- wise a considerable number of specimens from Sambalpore collected by the late Major Kitto, some specimens from the Carnatic collected by Mr. Griffith soon after his arrival in India, and a few of the numbered specimens of the Wallichian Herbarium, which Mr. Griffith seems ta have brought with him from England.
10. A small collection, made by Lieutenant Parish, in the district of Mandi in the Punjab Himalaya, during the cold season of 1847-48. The Ferns of this collection are numerous and good.
11. A large collection, made in the Tenasserim provinces by Dr. Falconer, while on deputation (in the year 1849). The specimens are,
CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 35
in general, excellent, and there are a considerable number of duplicates. The localities are always carefully marked.
12. A collection, made by Dr. M‘Clelland in 1849 in the Birbháüm district. The localities are carefully marked, and there are some du- plicates.
13. An excellent collection of Assam and Khasia plants, made by Mr. C. J. Simons, and presented to the Garden by Sir W. J. Hooker, K.H. The specimens are very fine, and are all carefully numbered and the localities marked. -
14. A set of excellent specimens of Khasia plants collected by Mr. Oldham in 1851-52, and presented by him to the Garden. Mr. Old- ham most liberally allowed me to select from his collection as many specimens as I wished, so that we possess excellent illustrative series of specimens of many valuable species.
15. A large collection of Pegu plants made by M. Scott, head gar- dener Н. С. Bot. Garden, while on deputation in that country in 1855. The specimens are very good, and the collection contains many inte- resting plants. ?
16. A small collection of rare and interesting Malacca plants, рге- sented by Captain Moxon.
17. A complete set of specimens'from the Ceylon Garden Herba- rium, presented by Mr. Thwaites, the Director. This is a numbered - collection, and contains all the known plants of the island, so that it is of very great value. Lm
18. A large herbarium from the Bombay Presidency, presented by Dr. Gibson, consisting partly of his own collections, and partly of those of Mr. Law, from the Concan and Dekhan, and partly of Dr. Stock's Sindh and Beluchistan collections. !
19. A good collection from the Northern Division of the Madras - Presidency, presented by Dr. Cleghorn. Tei
20. A most interesting collection from t . Western Tibet, presented by Mr. M. P. Edgworth, e. S. The Hima- layan specimens were collected by Mr. Edgworth himself; those from — Lahul and Ladak by Captain Hay.
21. A set of dii indian akin made by Drs. Hooker and Thomson between 1841 and 1851, which are now being distributed
in England.
These collections illustrate more or less fully the plants of Widara
he Punjab Himalaya and ———
36 THE HERBARIUM OF THE
Tibet, of the Western Himalaya, of the Punjab and the Upper Gangetic Plain, of Sikkim and the Khasia Hills, the Sôn Valley, Silhet, Cachar, and Chittagong.
22. Specimens of plants from different parts of India, not sufficiently numerous to be included as collections in this list, have been presented by Mrs. Burney from Ava, by Captain Margrave from Arracan, by the Rev. J. Parry from Jessore, by the Rev. Mr. Schmid from the Nilgherry Hills, by Colonel Madden from the Western Himalaya, by Dr. Fayrer from Khasia, and by Lieutenant Beddome from Jabalpur.
II. Wows АКЕ Collections.
1. An excellent collection of British and other European plants, se- lected from the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, and presented by Sir W. J. Hooker.
2. A good collection of Norwegian plants, presented by Dr. Blytt, an eminent Norwegian botanist, to Mr. Griffith, and received from Dr. M‘Clelland in 1856.
3. A large collection of European Grasses, the source of which I have not yet been able to trace. The specimens have printed tickets attached, and were probably purchased by Dr. Wallich.
4. A large collection of Swiss and French plants presented by M. De Candolle to Dr. Wallich, but unfortunately for the most part in very bad preservation.
5. A good collection of British Ferns, presented by Mr. R. Scott.
6. A small collection of Scotch plants, supposed to have been pre- sented to Dr. Griffith by Dr. Balfour.
7. A small set of Sieber's Egyptian plants, purchased by Dr.
Wallich. ds i; \ 8. A considerable collection of Cape plants, collected by Dr. Pappe.
9. A collection of Mauritius Ferns, presented by Mr. M‘Murray in 1856.
10. A small collection of the plants of the provinces of Dahuria in Asiatic Russia, presented by Dr. Fischer to Dr. Wallich.
11. Interesting collections of Aden plants, presented by Dr. Boycott and Lieutenant Playfair.
12. A large collection of New South Wales plants, presented. by Colonel Vicary.
13. A smaller but excellently preserved collection of Australian and Tasmanian plants, the donor of which has not been recorded.
CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 37
14. A small collection of Tasmanian plants, presented by Captain Margrave.
15. An extensive collection, chiefly of New Holland plants, selected from the Hookerian Herbarium, and presented by Sir W. J. Hooker.
16. A few New Zealand Ferns, presented by Mr. Bedford,
17. A complete collection of the plants of the United States of North America, chiefly from the states of New York, presented by the Rev. S. Williams in 1844. This collection is carefully named and ticketed, and is very valuable.
18. A small collection of North American plants, presented by Mr. Joseph Carson in 1836.
An examination of this list will show that our Herbarium is still very imperfect, and that there is no part of India from which contri- butions would not be welcome. It is however sufficiently complete to form an excellent basis on which, with the assistance of contributions from all parts of India, a general herbarium may be completed in the course of a few years; and it contains a sufficient number of authenti- cally named specimens to enable me to name the collections with which ` I may be favoured, without much difficulty, on the spot, and thus to avoid the necessity of sending them to England for comparison.
In a country like India, where the distribution of plants is regulated so completely by the climate, it is most important that botanists, wherever situated, should devote themselves to the complete elaboration of the plants of the district in which they reside ; and that they should, if possible, combine careful meteorological observations, especially of humidity, with their botanical labours. It is only thus that the ex- ceptional cases (if there be any) of plants whose distribution is inde- pendent of the climate, can be speedily, eliminated.
To the philosophical botanist who 1s desirous of investigating the laws by which the distribution of plants is regulated, no Flora in the world is more interesting than that of India, though it is in point of numbers of species a very poor Flora when compared with Australia, South Africa, or the continent of South America, to all of which Nature has been liberal to profusion in richness and variety of vegetable forms. The interest of the Indian Flora lies in the absence of new forms, in the identity of its plants with those of other countries, in the occur- rence of European plants on our western mountains, of Japanese plants - in the Eastern Himalaya, of Chinese plants in our dense eastern forests,
38 THE HERBARIUM OF THE
of a purely Egyptian Flora in Sindh, of a Polynesian Flora in Malaya, and of numerous African types in the mountains of the Madras Penin- sula. It may interest Indian botanists, for whom especially this little paper is intended, to give a slight sketch of the different Floras which co-exist within the limits of British India.
Disregarding for a moment the Malayan Peninsula, British India may be described as an equilateral triangle with sides 1500 miles in length, the apex advancing far within the tropics, the base in the hotter part of the temperate zone. The tropical portion of this triangle is traversed by ranges of hills of moderate elevation, most lofty toward the south, where they rise above 8000 feet, less lofty in the north, where the average height of the ridges is not more than 4000 feet. Within the temperate zone the level of the surface is much lower, and it is there occupied by the basins of two great rivers: the Indus on the west and the Ganges on the east. South of the tropic this large tri- angle is everywhere surrounded by sea, but north of the tropic the boundaries of India are traced on land, and are more or less artificial.
- The Indian Peninsula includes two distinct mountain-systems. The meridional chain of the Ghats attains in Travancore and Malabar an elevation of 8000 feet, but north of Nagar rarely more than 4000. It runs parallel to the western coast, and sends off transverse chains run- ning east, which are flattened out into a table-land highest in the south, where tlie continent is narrow, lower to the north, where the continent is wider and the rivers larger. North of the Godavery the transverse range of the Vindhia runs from sea to sea, almost on the tropic, sending out on all sides table-topped branches, and connected by a low ridge — with the Ghats further south, and with the Himalaya by the curious oblique Arawali range, which forms a water-shed between the Indus and Ganges.
An extensive plain, watered by the Indus on the one hand and by the Ganges on the other, separates the Indian Peninsula from the Himalaya, which rises on the north, a stupendous barrier, constituting the Indian portion of the enormous mountain-mass of Central Asia, which presents steep declivities in all directions.
After the configuration and elevation of the land, the most impor- tant element by which the distribution of vegetable forms is regulated, is climate. The climate of India depends mainly on the rain-fall. Situated entirely iu the northern hemisphere, and with an enormous
CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN. 39
mass of land. to the north, the summer winds blow strongly from the , south, while the winter winds are northerly. The south wind, com- monly called the south-west monsoon, is always a sea wind, and there- fore brings rain. "The summer is therefore the rainy season in India. The northern winter wind is generally a land wind, so that the winters are generally dry. To this there are two exceptions, the coast of the Carnatie and the Malayan Peninsula, in both of which the north-east monsoon is a sea-breeze, and therefore a rain-bringing wind.
The normal climate of India is divided into a cold, hot, and rainy season, but the amount of rain depends on the position of each place. The west coast of the peninsula, which presents to the south-west wind a lofty range of mountains, is extremely rainy at one season, but the east coast, being'sheltered by the higher hills to the westward, is much less so. On the Ghats the rain-fall diminishes as we go north, and when we reach Gujerat has become very small indeed. In Sindh there is no rain at any season.
In the Himalaya the rains are heaviest to the eastward, where the chain is nearest the sea, and they diminish gradually as we proceed west, till they entirely disappear in the mountains of Afghanistan. In the Malayan Peninsula, in which both monsoons blow over sea, all sea- sons of the year are rainy, the summer or south-west monsoon being rather drier from the intervention of the island of Sumatra, which con- denses much of the rain at that season. Р Ce а
In consequence of differences of elevation, three different climates : require to be studied in treating of the vegetation of India. These are the tropical, the temperate, and the alpine. Rising out of the hottest — part of the temperate zone into the regions of perpetual snow, the slopes of the Himalaya exhibit all these forms of vegetation at different elevations; but as none of the mountains of the Peninsula rise above the temperate zone, the alpine Flora is found only in the Himalaya.
This alpine Flora is found at elevations above 13,000 feet, and varies u
with the degree of moisture. In the outer Himalaya, where the дон fall is copious and the summer humid, but with bright sunshine, we - have a Flora closely resembling that of the Alps of Europe. A similar Flora is found on the highest peaks of Afghanistan, of Persia, and of Asia Minor, and beyond Europe extends into the alps of Greenland | and of temperate North America. In the more arid mountains of the
interior we find a purely Siberian Flora. i
40 HERBARIUM OF THE CALCUTTA BOTANIC GARDEN.
In Southern India the temperate Flora begins about 7000 feet of elevation, but as we advance northward, the requisite elevation gradu- ally diminishes till in the most northern part of the Himalaya it is not more than 4000 feet. In Southern India therefore the temperate Flora is found only in isolated patches on the mountain-tops, but along the Himalaya it is continuous from one end of the chain to the other. Here it presents three distinct types, the first of which is the normal Himalayan type, of forms which are adapted to a climate dry at one season, wet at another, occupying the Central Himalaya. To the west we have the European type intruding upon and mingling with it, espe- cially in the inner ranges, where the climate is drier. To the east the Japan or moist temperate Flora is especially developed in Khasia and Sikkim, where the climate, throughout the year, or at least throughout the whole period of vegetation, is extremely moist.
. The tropical Flora is dependent in Jike manner upon the climate, and _ partially also on the nature of the surface. The open plain of the
Indus and Ganges, which stretches from sea to sea, has a gradually diminishing rain-fall as we ascend the Ganges and approach the Indus. The rain-fall is also greater everywhere near the base of the Himalaya, and diminishes as we recede from it. In Sindh and the Western Pan- jab no rain falls, and there we find an arid Flora, identical with that of Egypt, with which in fact it is continuous across Arabia and Southern Persia. The characteristic plants of this arid Flora extend at a distance from the mountains down the valley of the Ganges, but never approach the more humid Himalaya, in which we have a Flora like that of Bengal, though they recur in the Deccan and Carnatic, which are sheltered from the moist wind of the south-west monsoon by the higher ranges of the Ghats. | Tn the hilly distriets of India, where a dry hot season is sueceeded by more or less heavy rain during the monsoon, we find in all parts of the empire a very similar Flora. On the eastern slopes of the Ghats, in the valleys of Nagpore, on the slopes of the Arawali, and along the . base of the Himalaya (except to the eastward and in the extreme west) · we find the same monotonous forest, consisting partly of evergreen and - partly of deciduous-leaved trees, with many creepers. The trees are gay with flowers in spring, and after being scorched by the intense heat - of May and June, burst into life with renewed vigour at the commence- ment of the rains.
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS, 41
It is only when the humidity begins to linger in the damp and shady valleys throughout the year that the Flora changes its character. This we find to be the case in many parts of the valley of the Nerbada, and in the deeper ravines of the Ghats of the Concan. The number of peculiar forms increases as we go southward, and is very great in the forests of Travancore and Ceylon. So in the Central Himalaya, humid forms appear as far west as Kumaon, increase in numbers in Nipal, predominate in Sikkim, and are universal in Assam. In Malaya, where the climate is humid at all seasons, we have the Flora of the Archipe- lago, the richest and most varied which is found in any part of India.
I might illustrate each of these floras at great length, but the object of this paper is not to bring forward examples of each, but to induce botanists to lend their assistance in establishing their limits on a sure basis of observation, by collecting as far as they can, and transmitting for examination and comparison, the plants of their respective neigh- bourhoods, so that the exact area inhabited by every species may be ascertained, and the main facts of the Geographical Botany of India
be accurately determined. Н
Sketch of the Life and Writings of M. DE Martius, Secretary to the Bavarian Academy of Science; бу ALPHONSE DE CANDOLLE. (Continued from p. 10.) :
Such are the principal publications which Martius has performed or inspected, and it is superfluous after them to enumerate the essays, pamphlets, and articles in periodical works, whose list alone would fill several pages. I would only specify his descriptions and figures of the Palms collected by D’Orbigny, some important. tracts on Eriocaulon and
Xyris, and a valuable treatise, conjointly with Nees, on the plants col- —
lected during the expedition of the Prince de Neuwied. Martius was one of the first to ascertain and describe the Potato disease; he has studied agriculture, vegetable physiology, and: fossil plants; he trans- lated into English the work of Sir Humphry Davy on the Travels and Latter Days of a Naturalist; and analyzed рери French, ` English, Italian, and Portuguese publications in the Munich * Gelehrte . Anzeigen. It is impossible to enter into such details as would convey any adequate idea of his extensive and varied knowledge, his nd and
VOL. IX.
42 SKETCH OF THE
comprehensive mind; nor can І describe the importance of his public teaching, his brilliant speeches before the Academy, when, fresh from his journey, he related some of its incidents and described the magni- ficent contrasts of tropical vegetation. Finally, I would cite, as emi- nently praiseworthy, his spirit of enlightened candour and benevolence, which rendered warm and ample justice tó his colleagues,—as his patron | Schrank, his fellow-worker Zuccarini, his correspondents Bouvard, Geoffroy St. Hilaire, Ledebour, Oken, De Candolle, the Count de Bray, Treviranus, and many others, of whom he spoke with heartfelt admira- tion and discriminating applause. I must confess myself deeply grateful to M. de Martius for his eloquent eulogium of my father, in 1842; but without dwelling on personal feelings I would look to the history of science, and may assert that Martius’s career has yielded much valu- able information for future naturalists. Let us inquire into his peculiar merit, and wherein he peculiarly deserves to be followed,—an inquiry which is the more seasonable, as, for the last few years, Botany has appeared, in France and Germany, to depart from its original course ; and it may be well to ascertain whether its disciples have at all strayed, in pursuing, for half of this century, the now somewhat slighted track of Dioscorides, Bauhin, Tournefort, and Linneus.
Together with these great men and with his more immediate contem- poraries, Martius, while paying due regard to diverse branches of Botany, held firmly the opinion that to describe and classify vegetable produc- tions is the main object of the science. In this respect he differed materially from those writers who now limit themselves perhaps to Physiology, perhaps to the study of some particular organs, possibly to the plants of their own country alone, without seeking to trace the causes of geographical distribution, or the analogy of the genera and families in various lands. If this extreme limitation is caused by per- sonal circumstances,—as the difficulty of obtaining access to books and herbaria,—by an inconvenient residence, etc., it is to be commended as
‘a mark of prudence, always provided that every effort has been made to preserve the necessary materials for consultation, at home or abroad. As a system, it is faulty and pernicious; for even in the most special studies.a wide and varied range of ideas and of information is needful.
‚ Ап acquaintance with several languages, and with the methods and: processes of other branches of science, are often useful. Thus an ae- quaintance with botanical affinities is necessary to the man who studies
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 43
organography ; the physiologist ought to have some acquaintance with chemistry, pharmacy, agriculture, horticulture, and botany ; the micro- scopist may certainly dispense with much, but not with some experi- ence in optical instruments, nor with the power to verify the name of a plant. The example of some men goes to prove that for even the most restricted branches of study extensive information is highly valu- able; for M. Tulasne, who is the ablest microscopist of the present day, is a Doctor of Laws, and the erudite author of several botanical monographs of flowering plants. Let people say what they will, and despite the present disposition to adhere to minutiæ, the essential ob- ject of Botany is and always will be to know plants; and if a thing, to be understood, must be studied all round, it is needful to pass from one part of it to another as well as profoundly to investigate any one point. It is the same with all departments of knowledge. The superiority of aman consists in his being able to grasp the whole of a subject, as well as its details, and to turn rapidly to each. Thus will the able lawyer descend from the high ‘principles of justice to the articles of a code and the minute details of a cause, and again rapidly rise to the ` theory of law. A great General will turn from strategical questions to the concerns of the commissariat, and from the scrutiny of an advanced post to a diplomatic correspondence. And this universal (so to speak) knowledge is eminently valuable to a writer who works both in de- - scription and classification, the latter requiring a full consideration of all the organs, their situation and evolution, of the affinities of plants, their properties, physiology, and geographical distribution ; and it also demands an acquaintance with the principles of nomenclature, the im- portance of characters, and the value of previous publications on the subject. All these points must be borne in mind and weighed ; and it is thus the various mental qualities are brought into action. : For the above reasons, the work of classification is far more difficult — than it appears, and very few men perform it thoroughly well. But s on the other hand, such labours amply reward those who pursue them, for nothing in science lasts so long. It is plain that books of physio- logy become antiquated and useless, whenever chemistry changes, and the transitions of that science are not few. Who cares for the miero- - scopical observations made in the time of Grew and Malpighi ? Nor are those in the beginning of the century much more consulted, except for the purpose of following the history of the study. Opticians and
44 SKETCH OF THE
physicians are entitled to claim the credit of microscopical botanists. If an invention should be made in 1857, by which microscopical ob- jects could be examined without cutting them, or by which the observer could dissect with certainty under a lens of 300 or 400 magnifying power, the labours of the ablest microscopists of 1855 would become as valueless as those of half a century ago, perhaps even of Grew. Now this is not the case with descriptive Botany. The books which first describe certain plants and tribes of plants, especially if accom- panied by plates, executed from Nature, will always be consulted. This I steadily affirm: and I never fail to point out to students who aspire to gain a name in science, that the works of Clusius, Prosper Alpinus, Dodoneus, and the Bauhins are still referred to, because they described and delineated fairly accurately the plants then known ; while hardly anybody has ever heard of a certain Costzeus, who, at the very same time, wrote on the organs and growth of vegetables. Swartz and Jacquin, towards the end of the last century, were not perhaps more distinguished men than Senebier and Kieser; but the two former have left excellent works on the species and genera then known, and admirable plates of rare plants, and they are therefore cited and con- sulted even at the present day.
And now if we return to M. de Martius, and if we inquire what will be thought of him fifty or a hundred years hence, the reply is easy—according to the necessary and historical march of science. He has published upwards of a thousand plates, all original, carefully executed, full of analyses, and accompanied by admirable descriptions and full information upon the localities and properties of the hitherto unknown kinds. And he has thus guaranteed himself a lasting repu- tation. The plates are as follows, in—
Reise in Brasilien . . . . . - . 58 plates.
Nova Genera . . oe eee 300 Icones Cryptog. Pid “pig sl ue TT Eriocaulee . . PETIT VI Choix de Plantes d Jardi T Munich 16 Pals v: p 7 5 D Flora вй вів, hsc: 1-15 oo RUNE Palmetum Orbignyanum . . . .' . 8] Sundry Essays, сіс, eic. . . . PS ?
Total — ç .— . . с ТВЕТ
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 45
Perhaps I may be told that a man’s worth is not to be judged by the duration of his name, or Erostratus would be a very great man. True: we must rather consider why the man’s name has lived so long. Now, the description of an unknown plant implies a new fact; and no botanist has better earned the credit of such discoveries than M. de Martius, who travelled far and often braved pestilential regions to pro- cure his plants, and who afterwards studied, classified, and figured them. It is not generally that one person is able both to collect and to describe: and if I am reminded that the subject of my present essay had many fellow-workers, this circumstance does not detract from his merit ; for his own performances were considerable, while his know- ledge enabled him to select the best helpers. Seldom does this happy harmony occur; and the want of it has rendered many a scientific un- dertaking futile. Of all the botanists who explored Brazil, few had M. de Martius’ skill and good fortune in this very respect. For in- stance, M. de St. Hilaire, who had money, family connections, friends and pupils, and who travelled and collected much: every one knows ` how small is the amount of his achievements towards the furtherance of Natural History. The fact is that it does not suffice to incur labour and expense, nor even to set the example, in order to stimulate others to work; but one must have a knowledge of character, and some geni- ality of disposition, and, above all, a hearty interest in science, which swallows up all selfish considerations. And with these moral qualitie and expansive views, M. de Martius is eminently endowed. ·
Expansive ideas and an instinctive looking beyond minuti, except as they indicate great facts,—such is his character, which places him among the botanical reformers and the resuscitators of science in our day. He early appreciated the Natural Method, though his masters _ all held by the Linnean System; and the sight of new plants im- - pressed on his clear mind the value of Jussieu’s ideas, which, again, were first suggested by Magnol and Adanson. He was the first pro- moter in Germany of this method, which is founded on natural affini- ties; while he held by Linnzeus's comprehensive views. He is endowed with many qualities which indicate scientific merit, among which I would instance that of discriminating and — EG which — marks a sound appreciation of Nature, and which is his in common with Tournefort, cuales A. L. de Jussieu, De Candolle, and R. Brown, all of whom have established genera, whose value is seen and
46 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS.
felt, spite of an immense accumulation of newly discovered forms. These savans have not at all handled the species nor the higher rela- tions between genera in an equally masterly way, which warrants me in believing that a botanist may to a great degree be judged by the value of his genera. Now the genera of M. de Martius are not con- tested: to me they are excellent, and I have read also with pleasure his specific descriptions, which are clear, well-written, and evidently drawn up by a man who has either seen the plant in a living state, or examined analogous ones in the Herbarium.
Besides an author’s chief works, he generally publishes pamphlets, memoirs, etc., more or fewer; and if the writer is an active person and lives in literary society, these his auxiliary works are numerous, and possess a certain degree of merit. They are useful at the time, but seldom are worth translation, and are always mingled with defects, for the new ideas which they present are often hurriedly put forth, and sometimes aim more at effect than at pure scientific truth. Perhaps a journal requires the article to be ready by a certain day, or the printer is waiting for work, or, as in the universities of the north, such tracts were hastily prepared for the use of students, who demand clearness and decision, rather than depth. At least, however the case may be in Munich, I have known an ingenious theory to be proposed in France, which was vehemently praised by a hundred or two of the students, and which even caused a distinguished Professor to commit himself further than was wise. The disciples of Linneus, when they gave to the world all his dissertations, instead of a selection from them, did ` him an ill turn; and, generally speaking, it is with this small coin of science and literature, that men ‘of the highest merit make the worst speculations.
M. de Martius could not always escape the trials of other men of letters. So far as I can judge by the perusal of German periodicals, many persons, instead of being: thankful for the instruction and the mass of new and striking notions which their country received from the subject of this memoir, have attacked him on points whereon it is more probable that his critics were in error than himself. For instance, he was reproached for having too lightly credited M. Schleiden’s dis- ` eoveries of the pollen-tubes: and now it is М. Schleiden himself who pronounces Martius a “dreamer.” Yet the ‘ Voyage au Brésil, the ‘Nova Genera,’ the ‘ Flora Brasiliensis,’ and the ‘ History of Palms’
DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW DILLENIACEOUS PLANTS. 47
are no dreams, but the productions of a man thoroughly awake; and M. Schleiden himself says that he founds his censure on a trifling production which is no more, in comparison, than a speck of dust. It must be confessed that the unpolished style, in which some of the German Professors in the smaller universities are wont to indulge, reminds us of the Middle Ages. Their criticisms are hardly worth notice: and we would prefer, in closing, to petition M. de Martius that he would give us yearly, from his own pen or by the help of his friends, two or three fasciculi of the ‘Flora Brasiliensis,’ equally ad- mirable as those which he has published in 1855.
Descriptions of Two New DILLENIACEOUS PLANTS from New Cale- · donia and Tropical Australia; dy J. D. Hooker, M.D., F.R.S., ete. (With Two Plates, Tab. I. and IT.)
Nov. gen. Trisema, Hook. fil.
Sepala 5, coriacea, persistentia. Petala 3, decidua. Stamina plurima, sub-3-serialia, equilonga, ovarium ambientia ; filamentis filiformibus ; antheris lineari-oblongis. Ovarium 1, oblique ovatum, sericeum, in stylum lateralem subulatum abrupte attenuatum, 1-loculare; stigmate
simplici; ovulis 6—8, juxta basin ovarii lateraliter insertis, biseriatis. - |
Fructus ignotus.—Frutex Austro-Caledoniz ; ramis ramulisque Zere- _ libus, cano-tomentosis, cicatricatis ; foliis alternis, patentibus, petio- latis, obovatis, retusis emarginatisve, valde coriaceis, integerrimis, supra lucidis, subtus parce canis glaberrimisve, venis lateralibus horizontali- bus obscuris; -paniculis axillaribus, versus apices ramulorum, longe pedunculatis, ramis cano-tomentosis ; floribus Ай ramulos panicule subsessilibus, basi bracteolatis; sepalis extus sericeo-tomentosis, x ovatis, acutis; petalis flavis, calycem paulo superantibus, obovato-ob- — longis, acutis; staminibus petalis 4 brevioribus. | 1. Trisema coriaceum, H.f. (Tab. 1.) d Has. Insula Pinorum Nove-Caledonie, versus summum montis. (Z. Macgillivray et Milne in itinere navarchi Denham, Oct. 1853.) Although the fruit of this remarkable plant is as yet unknown, there can be no doubt, I think, of its being a genuine member of Dilleniacee, differing however from all its congeners in the reduction of the petals
48 DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW DILLENIACEOUS PLANTS.
to three, and from all but a few Pleurandre and Hidbertia, in the solitary ovary. In respect of the irregular corolla it approaches Hemi- stemma, in which two of the petals are occasionally smaller than the others, and unsymmetrically arranged ; in that genus however the irre- gularity is shared by the stamens to even a greater degree, whereas in Trisema the staminal whorl is perfectly regular. It is further worthy of notice, that the ovary being solitary in Trisema is another irregula- rity, the normal disposition of the female organs in the Order being a whorl; there are here, therefore, regular calyeine and staminal whorls, and irregular corolline and ovarian ones; whereas in Hemistemma all the whorls but the calycine are irregular, the staminal being most so; in Pleurandra the ovarian and staminal whorls alone are irregular ; and in Hibbertia and others the ovarian only. This irregularity of the flowers is as prevalent a feature in the closely allied Order Ranuncu- lacee, from which indeed Dilleniacee are chiefly distinguished by the - shrubby or arboreous habit of most, their coriaceous, invariably per- sistent sepals, the almost constant presence of an arillus, and they fur- ther want that tendency to a multiplication of the corolline and ovarian whorls so conspicuous in Ranunculacee.
The irregularity of the flowers of Dilleniacee should be taken into account in all attempts to explain the origin and relations of the floral organs and whorls in Ranuneulacee ; and considering these Orders as forming parts of one group, few are more instructive in this respect, from the number of instances both of total suppression and of great multiplication, which they present.
Puate І. Fig. 1. bud. 2. Flower, laid open. 3. pain 4. Ovary. 5. Vertical section of ovary. 6. Оғше:—а/ magnified.
2. Hemistemma candicans, H.f.; ramulis cinereo-pubescentibus apice angulatis, foliis breve petiolatis anguste lineari-lanceolatis acutis supra glabratis subtus tomento niveo arcte appresso tectis nervis et costa glabratis, racemis axillaribus abbreviatis paucifloris, pedun- culis foliis brevioribus 2-5-floris cinereo-pubescentibus, floribus sub- sessilibus, petalis obcordatis 3 superioribus majoribus, staminibus biseriatis serie exteriore linearibus anantheris basi connatis, ovariis 2. (Tab. IL) —
Has. In Australia orientali tropica ad Cap. York. (J. Macgillivray
. legit, itinere navarchi Stanley, October, 1848.)
H. dealbate proxima, sed differt foliis angustioribus supra medium
Trisema coriacea,H f.
s Witch dd et lith.
Hemistemma candicans HH. f.
GUMS FROM SENEGAL, | 49
non dilatatis, et, racemis axillaribus foliis multoties brevioribus.— Folia 3 unc. longa, 2. unc. lata, juniora supra subsericea. Pedun- culi sicco angulati, apices versus 3—5-flori, simplices v. divisi. Brae- tea concava sepalisque ovato-oblongis acutis extus dense sericeis. Petala 3 superiora postica, calyce longiora, 2 inferiora subdivaricata, minora. Stamina antica, fertilia 10—15, antheris lineari-elongatis, fila- mentis brevibus crassis; sterilia fertilibus zequilonga linearia obtusa. Ovaria sinistrorsum et dextrorsum inserta, dense villosa ; stylo apice curvo. Ovula solitaria. Puare IL Fig. 1. Flower. 2. Back view of stamens, 3. Front view of stamens and ovaries. 4. Fertile and sterile stamen. 5. Ovary. 6. Vertical section of ditto. 7, Ovule :—all magnified.
Some Particulars respecting the Gums from Senegal ; by M. J. LEON SouBEIRAN.*
The Senegal Gum, of which it is hardly necessary to recapitulate the commercial and pharmaceutical uses, is of two kinds, viz. the Hard Gum from Galam, or from below the river, and the Friable Gum, or Sadrabeida : these are the products of different trees and possess dis- tinct properties. As I have been in a position to obtain information respecting them from competent individuals, long resident in our African Colony, I have been induced to study these substances and to draw up descriptions of them, rectifying former errors on the subject.
The Hard Gum, from Galam, or from below the river, consists of exudation from the bark of two closely allied species of Acacia, the A. Verek (Flor. Seneg. Tentam.), and the 4. Neboued (id.). As their origin is different, so these substances are not exactly alike. The Gum ` of Acacia Verek is white, wrinkled, and dull externally, glassy within, “in the shape of tears, often vermicular and twisted, but generally
ovoid or spherical, two inches, often less in diameter, with a slight and ——
agreeable flavour, accompanied by a little acidity, which is scarcely ob- servable but by those who habitually use it.” It is perfectly soluble in water, and afford a much clearer and thinner mucilage than that of Gum Arabic: it reddens litmus-paper, though less than Gum does.
The Acacia Verek is a tree of middling stature, 18-24 feet high at = =
most, much ramified, the branches twisted and armed with numerous * Read at the Séance de la Soc. Bot. de France, 13th June, 18868. cus VOL. IX. H
50 GUMS FROM SENEGAL.
sharp-pointed thorns: the wood is hard, the bark grey, and from the latter the gummy liquid naturally exudes, which becomes hard in from twenty to thirty days. It is more abundantly diffused, and forms | thicker forests on the right bank of the river than the left, growing in Senegal, all round Saint Louis, in Oualo and Ghioloff, and in the country of the Moors, to the confines of the Sahara Desert, as far even as the shifting sands which extend to Cape Verd. In all these loca- lities it is associated with the Acacia Neboued (the Mimosa Neb-neb, and Red Gum-tree of Adanson), which chiefly differs from A. Verek by its redder Gum, which is almost always formed in round balls, from half an inch to an inch in diameter, transparent, and slightly bitter-tasted. The Neboued Gum, which dissolves perfectly in its own weight of water, also forms a much thicker mucilage than the Verek, and colours litmus- paper very little.
The Senegal Gum is chiefly collected by the nomade Arabs of the Southern Sahara, who call themselves Bedaouins (wanderers), but whom the Colonists name Moors. A few quintals of the substance are very occasionally brought by the Negros of Oualo and Ghioloff, who inhabit the left bank of the river: the first are a most apathetic race, and the latter, who offer a remarkably fine sort of Gum, are much debarred from entering the market by the Moors, who are jealous of their neighbours, and who seek to monopolize the trade in Gum.
There are several distinct tribes of Moors, who devote themselves to the collecting of Gum, and each claims and explores its own peculiar oasis or forest of Gum-trees. The best Gum is obtained from the Oasis of Sahei, where hardly any tree grows but Acacia Реге; the tribe called Trarzas owns this forest. An inferior article is produced in the Oasis of El-hiebar, which consists more of Acacia Neboued than A. Verek ; it is in the possession of a very numerous family of Mara- bouts. Again, a still less valuable Gum, called Gonakie, comes from the Oasis of El-Fatak; while scattered bands of Arabs collect small quantities of gums, of greater or less value, in remote spots, far from the river.
When the rainy season ceases, in November, the Moors, whom the inundations of the river had driven to considerable distances, return, and set their black slaves to collect the Gum. For two or three months the produce is very limited, but in February, and early in March, when the drought increases) the harvest. of Gum becomes more
GUMS FROM SENEGAL. 51
productive, an east wind always augmenting it, up to June and July. The bark of the Gum-trees, which has been saturated with water and rain, dries, under the influence of the burning winds from the Desert ; it furrows and cracks, and exudes the drops of gummy fluid, which ag- glutinate in the form of balls. The hotter and higher are the winds (hindering agriculture), the larger is the product of Gum, and rarely do two unfavourable seasons occur successively. The slaves who col- lect the Gum, live exclusively upon it, except that quite recently the Arabs have raised some millet for their food in addition. The poor creatures pick it carefully from the bark as fast as it appears, lest any extraneous substance should mix with it; and therefore the best Senegal Gum is generally offered for sale in small drops. Each slave sallies out early in the morning, equipped with a leathern bag, which they call а Toulon or Touron, and carrying а staff, tipped with a kind of hoe or steel blade; but the operation of detaching the Gum is rendered difficult and painful by the sharp thorns which beset the trunk and branches of the Acacia-trees. When the Toulon is replenished and . delivered to the master, the latter always hides it in the sand, to escape the eyes of other gatherers, who, whether friends or foes, would un- scrupulously appropriate it; and so the cache goes on, till the number of bags is sufficient to be worth carrying to market. If the Gum has been picked too fresh,—that is, with the surface imperfectly dried,—if it lies too long buried, or if rain reaches it, in any of these circum- stances, the sand is apt to get into it and to deteriorate the quality. It has been asserted that the masses of Gum sometimes found near and around old trees, caking the earth and impeding the vigorous growth of the stems, are due to exudations from the roots; but I am assured that this idea is now exploded, and that buried Gum is the main cause of them, added perhaps to some which may naturally drop from the trees. is When the slaves have collected sufficient Gum to lade all the camels, oxen, and other beasts of burden of their owner, it is sent to the place of traffic, under the always onerous protection of the chief of the tribe ; and is bartered with the French traders for blue cotton cloths, guns, powder, sugar, ete. The sale is compulsory: the traffic can be only effected at an appointed spot, and is superintended by the commandant of a small ship of war; it commences in June and closes on the Ist of August, and takes place at considerable and varying distances up the
52 GUMS FROM SENEGAL.
river, whence it is conveyed in boats to St. Louis; there it is carefully examined before its despatch to France.
The Ghiolof Gum, which comes in very small quantities, is infinitely the finest, the purest, and clearest, with a bright surface, a glassy, almost crystallized fracture, and in large bits. The Moors are so averse to its exportation, that it is only obtainable as a sort of contra- band article.
The Bondou Gum is very often mixed with the Galam Gum, is diffi- cult to be distinguished by sight alone, and baffles the eye of experi- enced traders, but is recognized by its bitter flavour. It is the pro- duce of an Acacia, near A. albida.
The Gonaké or Gonaté Gum (so called from the tree which yields it, and to which the natives give that name) is collected abundantly in the Oasis of El-Fatak. It is redder than the other Gums ; but the faci- lity with which it is dried and pulverized affords an easy mode of add- ing it to the better sorts and adulterating them; and the Moors thus habitually increase the volume and weight of the more saleable gums. The taste alone detects its presence, for it is very bitter. It exudes from Acacia Adansoni of the Senegal Flora (Mimosa Gonakié, Adanson).
The Friable Gum, or Sabra-béida (corrupted into Salabréda), is offered in the form of a coarse salt; its fracture is glassy, the surface always dull and often wrinkled, and it is found either in rounded tears or in long, vermicular fragments; the flavour is always rather bitter. Its different colours, whitish, red, green, and yellow, depend on the age and strength of the Gum-tree which affords it; the more or less sandy nature of the soil has also a marked effect. It melts readily in its own weight of water, and forms a thin mucilage, which slightly reddens lit- mus paper. January, February, and March are the times when it is collected, in the forests not far from Bakel; and it is sold by stealth, by the Moors, and as fast as they can gather it, for it will not bear to be buried, like the Gum of Acacia Verek. Tt is produced by an Acacia, nearly allied to 4. albida: the tree is very thorny, much smaller than A. Verek, and grows in the sands of the Sahara, near Galam, on the right bank of the river. The white bark gives it the name of Sabra- héida (the White Tree); its Gum is very inferior to the Hard Gum, and is never vended at St.-Louis, except when the harvest of Hard Gum fails.
ON THE FORMATION OF SEEDS. 53
Observations on the Formation of the SEEDS without the aid of the Por- LEN; бу M. Cn. Naupin. (Communicated by Dr. В. SEEMANN.)
(From ‘ Comptes Rendus, 1856, vol. xliii. p. 538.)
“The sexuality of plants, now generally admitted, and the part which the pollen plays in the reproduction by seeds, are most prominent points in Vegetable Physiology, and there is therefore no reason to be sur- prised that one of the greatest naturalists of the last century should have made it the basis of a system of classification for ever celebrated. To Linnzus, and the greatest part of his followers, fecundation by means of pollen was the condition sine gud non of the development of the ovules and of the formation of the seeds. The law appeared abso- lute and without exception, and the fine experiments of Koelreuter on Hybrids have not a little contributed to make it accepted rigorously. In our own time it is carried still further: the intervention of the pol- len has appeared so sovereign in the act of reproduction, that an entire - school, formed in Germany under the inspiration of Horkel, has not hesitated to see in this agent the origin even of the embryo, attribut- ing to the ovule only the secondary part of matrix or organ at once protective and nutritive. This hypothesis, boldly advanced and va- liantly sustained, is now almost universally abandoned, even by those who have contended for it with the most talent and éclat. I have not here to repeat the numberless embryological researches which, to the great advantage of science, it has given rise to; but I will add, that if they could adduce incontestable cases of formation of fertile seeds with- out agency of the pollen, we should still have a last argument to op- pose to it, and one which would be without reply.
“Now facts exist, and they are not new; but belief in the absolute necessity of the pollen in all possible cases of development of the ovules was so fixed in the minds of naturalists, that these facts have remained in the shade, and have been thought dubious, or else entirely contro- verted. It appears to me that the moment is opportune to place them in the proper light, and to recall to them the attention of physiolo-
ists,
sea If I do not deceive myself, it was Spallanzani who, about the close of the last century, pointed out the first exception to the too — | law of the pollinical fecundation, by announcing that the female Hemp could fructify without the ageney of the male. A fact so opposed to
54 ON THE FORMATION OF SEEDS.
#
received opinions could not fail to find opposers; but it had also its supporters, among whom we must particularly mention Professor Bern- hardi, whose experiments would seem to leave little room for doubt. However, general opinion was still inclined to see an impossibility in fecundity without fecundation ; and it has not failed less than the re- markable discovery of John Smith on the Celebogyne to force stubborn minds to accept as possible and real (at least in some cases) the forma- tion of seeds without previous fecundation. “I have for two years resumed the experiments of Spallanzani and of Bernhardi, and, like them, I have arrived at the conclusion that the female Hemp can fructify without the participation of the male. A female plant, isolated in the grounds of the Museum, and very distant from some male specimens found in the Ecole de Botanique, furnished . me with the first supply of seeds which served for my projected experi- > ments. These seeds, sown in April, 1855, produced vigorous plants, of which twenty females were left in the ground in an enclosure shut in with walls, and separated from the Museum by the Rue Cuvier. Four others, also females, were planted, before any blossoming, in small pots, which I placed in the greenhouse of the Orangery, a garden sur- rounded with walls on all sides, and containing no other specimen of Hemp. All these plants flourished and fructified. They were frequently
` inspected, and never did I perceive in them the least trace of male flowers, which was very easy to execute on the four plants in pots, which were left very loose, and were without any ramifications, in consequence of the little nourishment they found in the small clod of earth in which they grew. The seeds of these four plants were gathered singly, and sown this year (1856). I have obtained from them forty plants, of which the males were all suppressed at the first appearance of their buds.
“Four new female plants, placed like those of the preceding year in small pots, were taken into a room situated in the second story of the house occupied by M. Decaisne, and they were there so sequestered that it was absolutely impossible for pollen of their species, or any pollen whatsoever, to have reached them: nevertheless these plants bore fruit. The most scrupulous examination, both of M. Decaisne and of myself, could not enable us to discover a single male flower among the female ones, which they produced in a very great abundance, and of which only a few have borne fruit, now almost ripe.
*
ON THE FORMATION OF SEEDS. 55
“The observation of Smith on the Celebogyne gave me the first idea of noting what would become of isolated female Mercurialis. A few very young plants, placed in pots before the appearance of their flowers, were put, some in a greenhouse, others in the small room just spoken of. The precautions were such, especially as regards the latter, that it is impossible to admit they could have received pollen of their species. All these plants, eight in number, produced an immense quantity of female flowers, of which a part, perhaps a fiftieth, bore fruit well formed, and containing seeds which germinated perfectly this year. I can also affirm that these plants did not produce any male flower. |
“ Аз а counter-proof to this experiment, I took away from two plants of Ricinus (of which one was found near similar plants, and the other distant enough to be considered out of the reach of their pollen) all the male flowers which were there, and which were in different stages of progress. All the female flowers fell off successively, without being able to set fruit; and yet one could suppose, with a certain degree of probability, that the stigmas of one of these two plants might have re- ceived some grains of pollen. Неге then are three Zuphorbiacez, of Which a monccious one does not fructify without fecundation, and two others, dicecious, in which seeds are formed undoubtedly without the aid of pollen.
“I observed, in 1854, in ground close to a wall and palisades, be- longing to the Museum, a female plant of the common Bryony (Bryonia dioica), quite alone in this ground, and which, from thousands of flowers which it had produced, had set and ripened fruit in very great numbers, but in a proportion incomparably less than that of the flowers. These fruits contained well-formed seeds. In November of the same year 1 had fifteen of them sown in a hothouse; all came up very well. In 1855 this female Bryony fructified as it did in the preceding year, and in the same proportion as it had done in 1856. I have examined the ` flowers many times, and have never found in them any traces of anthers. We may then suppose that some fruits which it produced each year proceeded from feeundations effected by the intervention of insects. What follows will prove that this reason cannot be advanced.
“Tn April of this year I caused to be planted, in the same border where the Bryony was found, a second female specimen, raised from seeds produced in November, 1854, and which, till then, had remained potted. Doubtless on account of its youth this plant did not develope -
*
56 ON THE FORMATION OF SEEDS.
much, but it was covered with flowers, which, without exaggerating, I may reckon at many thousands. All were females; in some I perceived not the slightest vestige of anthers, and yet, remarkable to say, all, or almost all, produced fruit now ripe, which gave to the withered branches of the plant the appearance of long red bunches. I took a hundred of them promiscuously, to examine their contents; of this number there was a dozen containing no seeds at all, forty-five with only one, twenty- nine two, eleven three; there were only two with four seeds, and one alone which contained five. This result does not sensibly differ from that presented by the plant which grew close to a male plant.
“Yet while this second Bryony was literally covered with fruit, the old plant, distant from it only a few yards, bore neither more nor less fruit than it did in the preceding years. We cannot say then that in both fecundation may have been effected by insects carrying pollen of the species, since it is evident that they would have equally taken it to both, and that both in consequence would have equally borne fruit. Now, as I have just said, the difference in this respect was enormous. I can only explain it to myself by the particular individual dispositions ; in other terms, by veritable idiosyncrasies.
* In order to assure myself that the quality of the dicecious plant has its origin in a measure in the causes of this anomalous fecundity, I made a fair experiment on this point, on a single specimen of Ecóa- lium elaterium, planted expressly in the same enclosure. During more than two months I took away all the male flowers, as the buds made their appearance, in such a manner that none could open and furnish pollen fit to effect fecundation. All the female flowers, to the number of more than a hundred, which showed themselves during the time that the suppression of the male flowers was going on, perished in eight days after their blooming, without their ovary showing the least swelling; but they set their fruit as soon as these continuous castra- tions ceased. We saw here then repeated that which I have already remarked about the Ricinus, the absolute unfecundation of the female flowers, through default of the male flowers, in a monecious plant, while that another plant of the same Family, and allied by its organi- zation, but dicecious, does not cease to fructify and to produce fertile seeds, even in the entire absence of any male to fecundize it.
“ Other facts of the same kind, that I have not myself observed, but which the authority of the name of those who produced them renders
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 57
very credible, have been remarked at different periods, and always on dicecious plants. Fresenius affirms (* Linnea,’ 1839) that the Datisca cannabina, female, fructifies very well without the concurrence of the male. Tt should be the same, according to M. Lecocq, with the female Spinach, and, according to M. Tenore, at Naples, with the Pistacia Narbonensis (Ann. des Se. Nat. 4ème série, t. I. p. 328), which Boccone (Museo di Piante, p. 148) affirms equally to have observed on other species of Pistacia, Testimonies so numerous and so in accordance scarcely permit the reality of the formation of embryo in plants with- out the participation of the usual fecundizing agent to be called in question. It remains to be learnt how long the species would be pre- served if they were reduced artificially to this mode of propagation. In every case a new view of observations (which it was well to point out) is opened to embryologists.”’
[That description of generation to which the above detailed cases belong is, in my opinion, best expressed by the term ** Parthenogenesis,” restricted, as has already been done entomologically by C. Th. E. von Siebold, to the development of the ovules without the agency of the male principle, the **7weima sine concubitu" of the older naturalists, and not extended, as has been done by Richard Owen in his excellent work ‘On Parthenogenesis, or the successive production of procreating individuals from a single Ovum (London, 1849),’ to the process of germination observable in certain esexual, viviparous bugs. Simulta- neously with Naudin’s interesting paper (for the above version of which I must consider myself responsible), there appeared an entomological work, indirectly bearing upon the question, ‘Wahre Parthenogenesis bei Schmetterlingen und Bienen, by C. Th. E. von Siebold (Leipzig, 1856), in which a Parthenogenesis is shown to exist in Psyche Helix, Solenobia clathrella and lichenella, Bombyx Mori and Apis mellifica ; and a paper by Alexander Braun, confirming the Parthenogenesis of - Ceelebogyne, and showing it to exist in Chara crinita, was read at the Meeting of the German Naturalists and Physicians at Vienna, Septem- ber 18, 1856. Finally, I may be allowed to add that I have reviewed the present state of the whole question in two leading articles in the ‘Bonplandia,’ January 5 and February 1, 1857.— Berthold Seemann.)
VOL. IX.
58 BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
FENDLER’s VENEZUELA, and Wricut’s CUBA PLANTS.
In no country in the world, perhaps, are botanical collections more extensively made and better prepared (and we may now add, better described) than in the United States: and the collectors have proved equally efficient abroad as at home. Two botanists, whose names head this article, after enriching the American Flora by their travels and discoveries in those new Territories which have recently, and happily for the Colonists there, become a part and parcel of the United States possessions, are now prosecuting their researches in more southern latitudes. : |
1. Мв. FENDLER, now we believe a resident at “ Colonia Tovar, in Venezuela,” has already sent some beautiful sets of the Phenogamous Plants and Ferns of that highly interesting country, to the care of Dr. Asa Gray, Professor of Botany in Cambridge University, Massachusetts, U.S., and which that gentleman kindly undertakes to dispose of for behoof of Mr. Fendler. Of these all are disposed of, excepts four sets, numbering respectively 538, 503, 452, and 414 species. Mr. Fendler continues to collect in Venezuela, and can be written to at the above- mentioned address by any who desire to communicate direct with him. We may observe that all the sets are peculiarly rich in Ferns, nearly two-fifths being of that favourite Family of plants.
2. Mz. CHARLES WRIGHT, on his late return from Ringgold's and Rogers’ celebrated United States North Pacific Expedition, where he was employed as botanist, has sailed for and arrived at St. Jago, at the eastern and mountainous extremity of the great island of Cuba, there to devote his whole time to the exploring that totally unknown, and, we cannot doubt, that fertile district, where the mountains at- tain an elevation of 8000 feet. A Flora of the Island of Cuba has indeed been commenced by the late Achille Richard, in 1845, from the collections of M. Ramon de Sagra, but was suddenly discontinued at the conclusion of the first volume, which ineludes only the ** Dicotylé- dones Polypétales,” and is accompanied by an expensive atlas of plates, many of which are not described. A separate volume indeed on the Oryptogamia, by the excellent Montagne, appeared, bearing date 1838— 1842. The Author, in the Preface, here observes, “gue toute la partie
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 59
orientale de l'Ile, à partir du 83° longitude occidentale du méridien de Paris, jusqu'à la pointe de Maysi, extrémité orientale de Cuba, a été peu ou point visitée par les naturalistes."— What may not then be expected from so excellent a collector as Mr. Charles Wright ?
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
DE CANDOLLE: Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni VEGETABILIS. Pars XIV. sectio prior, sistens POLYGONACEAS, PROTEACEAS, aliosque minores Ordines Monochlamydearum.
The successive appearance of the volumes of De Candolle’s ‘ Pro- dromus* mark as many epochs in the progress of Descriptive Botany. Ever since the publication of the first volume, botanists have felt its influence in many ways; the fact of such or such a Natural Order being about to be taken up by the contributors to the * Prodromus,’ caused the postponement of the labours of others who were preparing to publish upon it, and in very many instances determined the desti- nation of extensive collections which might otherwise have remained unpublished to this day. Nor has its influence been less directly felt after the appearance of each Natural Order than before it, for it seems to put for the time a check to progress in the field it has occupied: if the monographs have been well done, there remains for a period com- paratively little to add; if ill, the confusion is so great that it will take many years and a careful study of the same materials from which they were elaborated, to restore order; and before this is accomplished, any partial attempts to elucidate the subject very generally add to the con- fusion. :
Fortunately for botanical science, the honour and labour of carrying on the * Prodromus,” since the death of its illustrious projector, has fallen | into the hands of able and conscientious workers more often than the contrary ; and it is no small tribute to the goodness of the whole work, that few or no better monographs of any extensive Orders, not hitherto included in it, have appeared during its progress than those which itself contains. Amongst the very best of these are two which have just appeared in the first part of the fourteenth volume, namely the Proteaceæ by Meisner, and the Polygonee by Meisner and Bentham, |
60 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
the former botanist contributing the bulk of the Order, and the latter the Suborder Eriogonee.
To give a matured opinion of the execution of such great labours as these, is obviously impossible without a somewhat detailed study of the plants themselves with the work in our hands; and we can therefore do no more {һап give our reasons for entertaining no doubt that these mongraphs are first-rate contributions to the science of botany. These are, the established high reputation of the authors, as careful, diligent, acute, and conscientious naturalists; their extensive general acquaint- ance with plants and botanical literature; the excellence of Meisner’s previous monograph of Polygonez, published in 1826 ; of Bentham's monograph of Ériogonec in the volume of the ‘Linnean Transactions ;’ and the fact that these authors have availed themselves of all the mate- rials within their reach for rendering their several contributions com- plete, by visiting the principal European herbaria, and, when possible, by borrowing materials for study. And since, even with such qualifi- eations, mueh excellence in systematie botany cannot be attained with- out a long course of study, we may add that we believe that Mr. Meisner has been studying the Polygonee for now upwards of thirty years; and it is more than seven since he took the Proteaceae in hand. Considering how extensive our herbaria now are, and how good a use has been made of the portions now elucidated, it is but reasonable to suppose that the present volume of the * Prodromus" will enjoy а more lasting value even than any of its predecessors.
Amongst the more remarkable features of the volume before us are the great size of the genera; and it is with extreme satisfaction that we find these, which are eminently natural, kept entire. Thus of Zriogo- num there are 80 species, of Rumex 130, of Polygonum 215, Coccoloba 82, Myristica upwards of 80, Leucadendron 50, Protea 61, Serruria 52, Persoonia 69, Grevillea 116, Hakea 115, Banksia 58, and Dryandra 52. Altogether there are just 90 genera, and on an average 20 spécies to a genus; there being somewhat more than 1800 defined species in the volume. That this proportion is remarkable is proved from Steu- del’s ‘ Nomenclator,’ where, though the number of species is greatly exaggerated in proportion to the genera, it would appear that amongst all flowering plants there are only about eleven or twelve species to a
genus. ^. Though the proportion of species is so large, we by no means imply that these are exaggerated ; the number of new ones proposed is com-
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 61
paratively very small indeed, and, as far as we can judge, does not ex- ceed a few per cent. of the whole; whilst, on the other hand, a copious list of synonyms follows very many of the species. Of varieties there are extremely few, and we consequently rarely find a species pronounced as possibly or probably divisible into two, whilst we often find, espe- cially in Proteacee, species pronounced as dubious, and only retained in < the absence of materials sufficient to warrant their incorporation with others. On the other hand are numerous, quite recent, very extensive accessions to the Proteacee from Australia, and Polygonee from India, which have been partially examined by us, but not seen by Meisner, would seem to show that there is comparatively very little to be added to his labours, of available materials.
Altogether there are in the present volume about 600 species more than are enumerated in Steudel’s ‘Nomenclator, published about fif- teen years ago ; this increase is almost entirely due to the vast numbers of Proteacee discovered in South-western Australia by Drummond, Preiss, and Roe, and to the Hriogonee collected by the American Ex- pedition across the Rocky Mountains. . With regard to the future of these Orders, now brought up to the present state of science, we should expect some additions still to be made to the Proteaceae, these plants being so local that there not three species common to South-eastern and South-western Australia, and there being large intermediate un- explored tracts where they no doubt abound; there are also species to be discovered in New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, and other oceanic mountainous islands, and possibly a few in tropical and extratropical Southern Africa. On the other hand, so many of the species described are from solitary fragments of individuals, and these often of large bushes and trees, which present a different foliage at different ages, that a very appreciable proportion described as distinct will no doubt be reduced, besides most of those of whose validity Meisner is already doubtful. The Eriogonee also will be considerably enlarged, their species being local and the tract of country over which the Suborder ranges being also extensive and very partially explored ; and comparatively few of the species now described will be reduced. We suspect that. the series of other genera of Polygonee will be very largely reduced ; and of this surmise more copious specimens than Meisner has еха- mined of the Australian Rumices and Polygona, and more especially of the Indian ones, to which we have paid some attention ina living state, assure из.
62 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
It remains to add a few words, and these wholly in praise of the de- tails of execution of the descriptive matter ; the generic and specific dia- gnoses are as short as is consistent with the plan of the work, and the habitats are carefully and correctly selected and arranged,—a very im- portant point, too often slovenly performed in systematic works. We could have wished that the uniformity of the typography of previous volumes of the work had been so far broken into as to have allowed of the habitats, at any rate, being printed in Italics: this, and the same or a different type for the names of the principal organs introduced in the generic characters and descriptions (as Calyx, Corolla, etc.), would save much time and no little fatigue of eyesight to the reader; these may appear trifles, but in reality they are matters of great importance, now that the number of species is so vast, and the time and difficulty of indentifying them by descriptions so greatly increased.
BONPLANDIA: A Botanical Journal. The official Organ of the Impe- rial Leop. Carol. Academy. Edited by WILHELM E. G. SEEMANN and BERTHOLD SEEMANN. Hanover, Rümpler; London, Williams and Norgate; Paris, Klincksieck. . (Semi-monthly, with Illustra- tions.)
The plan of this Journal has undergone considerable change since noticed by us in our volume of 1852. The ‘ Bonplandia' was then mainly devoted to Economie Botany, but after the first six months of its issue, this exclusive tendency was given up, and articles on all branches of botany were freely admitted. The effect of that change was an immediate increase, which has ever since been going on to such an extent, that instead of the one sheet promised in the prospectus, we have now not unfrequently three, four, and even siz, and instead of the few original contributors, of no less than sixty, amongst them such names as those of Humboldt, Bonpland, Reichenbach fil., Miquel, Hasskarl, Góppert, Grisebach, Klotzsch, Schultz Bip., Steetz, W. Hof-
meister, Caspary, Liebmann, Nees von Esenbeck, Oersted, Lehmann, ` and others.
Of the Physiological papers particularly deserving of mention, are :— W. Hofmeister, “On the Germination of Botrychium Lunaria.” Ejusd. “On the Embryogenesis of Phanerogams (embracing the latest views of the author, and a critical examination of the writings of Radlkofer and Tulasne on that subject)." Ejusd. * A new Theory on the Impregna-
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 63
tion of Phanerogams” (being a refutation of the hypothesis proposed by Schacht, after Radlkofer had demonstrated the groundlessness of his and Schleiden’s opinion on the subject) Caspary, * On the De- velopment of Heat in the Flowers of Victoria regia and other Plants” (the most elaborate treatise that has ever appeared on these pheno- mena); there are also all the articles that have hitherto appeared in various periodicals and transactions, on the much-discussed Ægilops question, together with several original ones by Regel in St. Petersburg, aud Klotzsch in Berlin.
Of systematic papers we have a great many of permanent value. We would draw particular attention to those of Reichenbach, fil., on Orchidee, scattered throughout the four volumes that have hitherto appeared,—in which we find more than 500 Orchidee (the collections of Schlim, Warszewicz, Wagener, Sartorius, Hance, Ruiz and Pavon, etc.), carefully described, constituting one of the most valuable contri- butions to that branch of botany; Miquel’s * Synopsis of the Aralia- ce? of Dutch India," Liebmann's ** New Mexican Oaks," Seemann’s * Review of the genus Tanecium,” Schlotthauber's ** Enumeration of the Droseracee and Utricularie of South-western Australia," Kórnike's “ Botanical Sketch of Calumet, Wisconsin, United States” (with a synopsis of all the plants of that district, and a review of the genus Agrimonia). Besides these articles, and others too numerous to men- ` tion, there are also translations of important articles from foreign pe- riodicals, among which we quote as an illustration, Bentham’s famous review of the Loganiacee, lately published in “The Journal of the Pro- ceedings of the Linnean Society of London,’ reviews of new works, miscellaneous notices (original and selected), and all the botanical news, derived both from original sources, and all other periodicals devoted to botany. :
Every number opens with a leader on some prominent topic of the . day, always written with great fairness and impartiality, further secured to the interested parties by a part of the paper set aside for the sole purpose of giving every one an opportunity of pleading his own cause, without the least restriction on the part of the editors. Most of the articles of the * Bonplandia' are in German, the systematic articles in Latin; but communications made in other languages are also admitted, as we find several English and French inserted.
On the 15th of January, 1857, the * Bonplandia’ commenced its
64 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
fifth volume, and may therefore be looked upon as permanently esta- blished, and as having taken a lasting place among the great scientific periodicals of the day.
LEHMANN, CHRISTIANUS; Revisio PoTENTILLARUM Iconibus Illus- trata. (From the Supplement of the twenty-third volume of the Nov. Act. Acad. Nat. Cur.) 4to, with Sixty-four Plates. 1856.
This is a very acceptable work to the practical botanist, for the genus is one which, like Hieracium, or its much nearer allies, Rubus and Rosa, is attended with great difficulty in determining the limits of the spe- cies: “in genere tam difficili limites inter species segerrimé statuun- tur" Dr. Lehmann however does not enter upon a field that is new to him. He is a veteran in the study of the Potentillæ, and no man has worked more zealously upon any geuus of plants than our friend has upon this. Besides elaborating the rich collection of species for Hooker’s ‘ Flora Boreali-Americana,’ we have from his pen the ‘ Mono- graphia Generis Potentillarum,’ published in 1820, with twenty plates, and a supplemental fasciculus in 1835, with ten plates. Since that period the labours of botanists have brought to light several new spe- cies; and the whole are here incorporated in one wdfk, with no less than sixty-four beautiful additional plates, with, not unfrequently, two spe- cies represented on one plate. The greatest pains seem to be taken in the arrangement, in the drawing up of the specific distinctions, and iu the very copious synonymy. Observations are given where necessary, aud references to the author's more full descriptions in his previous publications. In so very difficult a genus we cannot be too thankful to Dr. Lehmann for giving us so many figures as he has done. Other works, especially local floras, and even garden-books, have not been backward in publishing figures of Potentille ; but it is chiefly owing to the very numerous, and we think we may say very accurate ones, of this author, that out of 201 species here given, only 21 remain unre- presented by a figure. |
At the close of the volume are five large, folded, elaborate Tables, explaining at a glance the geographical distribution of the several spe- cies. From these it appears that Potentilla reptans and P. anserina are the most widely dispersed, and the latter and the P. Norvegica (both unquestionably wild), are the only ones found in Australia.
65
On RANUNCULUS CRETICUS, CORTUSJEFOLIUS, and GRANDIFOLIUS of Authors; by В. Т. Lown, М.А.
Considerable uncertainty seems, from their first discovery, to have attended the right determination of the common large Canarian and Madeiran species of Ranunculus. The original specimens sent from both these localities by Masson, in 1776 and 1778, and still existing in the Banksian Herbarium, were indiscriminately referred by Dr. So- lander to A. Creticus, L. Persoon however in his ‘Enchiridium,’ or * Synopsis’ (Paris, 1805-7), under the name of R. Teneriffe, and Will- denow, in his * Enumeratio’ (Berlin, 1809), under the name of R. cor- tusefolius, described the Canarian plant as a distinct species; and this determination, though indorsed by De Candolle, in his ‘Systema’ and ‘ Prodromus,” under the name conferred by Willdenow, and illustrated no less by the publication of the admirable figure in Delessert’s ‘ Icones,’ i. t. 36, than by the full discriminative and exact description in the *Phytographia Canariensis’ (though his var. 8 may perhaps be the true Madeiran plant) of my late lamented friend Webb, seems still not to have commanded complete acceptance, though more perhaps from
certain theoretic views than from absolute practical study of the plants in question. It seems to be still more strongly doubted whether the Madeiran plant, first published by myself, in 1830, under the name of R. grandifolius, may not be considered as a form or state of one at least of these two species, to both of which it is undoubtedly no less closely allied in physico-botanical, than it is to the Canarian plant, in geographical, affinity.
The result of a protracted correspondence on these points some years ago (in 1844), with another much-regretted friend, the late Dr. Charles Lemann, was an acquiescence in his opinion, formed (as he wrote April 10, 1844), “with Webb’s work before me, and dried specimens of the
Ranunculus from the Canaries, Madeira, and Azores,” and confirmed by his subsequent examination of the Hookerian Herbarium, that Z. cortusefolius, Willd. and Webb, was indeed distinct; but that Z. grandifolius was identical with R. Creticus, L. : Subsequently (in 1846) Dr. Lemann seems to have become again unsettled, and to have reverted to Solander’s original reference of іће
"Canarian as well as the Madeiran plant to the Cretan species.
Unprepared to aecept this, though T had aequiesced (see VOL. IX.
° Primit. K
66 ON CANARIAN AND MADEIRAN
Faune et Fl. Mad.’ ed. 2, 1851, App. pp. v. vi.) in Dr. Lemann’s earlier view, which had been indeed my own, I have lately, by the kind favour of Mr. Brown and Sir W. J. Hooker, carefully re-examined the whole of the ample materials for the elucidation of the question con- tained in the Banksian and Hookerian Herbaria, enriched as they are now by fresh and more abundant specimens of the Cretan and Canarian plants, from De Heldreich and E. Bourgeau, than Dr. Lemann had the advantage of comparing. And having arrived at the conclusion that both R. cortusefolius and R. grandifolius are alike distinct from each other and from A. Creticus, L., I shall proceed to give their diagnoses, with a brief synonymy and history of each species, taking them in the order of their first establishment,
R. CRETICUS, L.
R. molliter tomentoso-villosus, pilis lanuginoso-sericeis simplieibus, caulinis patentibus superne erecto-patentibus; fol. mollibus imma- culatis, radicalibus reniformibus incisis late parciusque vel remote grossierenatis, caulinis profundius pinnatipartitis sessilibus, laciniis integris; fl. sparsis remotis distinctis; sep. patentibus; spicis majus- eulis ovali- vel ovato-globosis crassis abbreviatis obtusis, ach. magnis nunc glabris nunc hispidiusculis.
Has. In Ins. Creta.
From specimens in the Banksian and Hookerian Herbaria, from Gouan, Sieber, and De Heldreich. A specimen from ** Rhodes, Aucher- Eloy, Herb. d'Orient, No. 32," in the Hookerian Herbarium, is much less hairy than usual; but it is altogether a poor, weak, drawn-up plant, grown evidently in a shady spot, or amongst other herbage.
Root fascieulate or tufted, like that of the common garden Ranun- culus (R. Asiaticus, L.), the tuberous divisions slender, not fleshy, thick or palmate. Stem 6-12 inches long, somewhat weak and de- clining, sparingly branched, few-flowered. Lower leaves light green, immaculate, broader than long, 2-4 inches broad, with a wide, open sinus at their base, the petioles densely villose, like the stem, with soft, - cottony, spreading hairs. Flowers not at all corymbose, of moderate size, scarcely larger than in R. acris, L., or bulbosus, L. Spike resem- bling neither that of the Canarian nor Madeiran plant, i. e. much shorter and thicker than in the former, and larger than in the latter, with the aehzenia larger than in either.
SPECIES OF RANUNCULUS. 67
Stem-leaves pinnatipartite, often three-cleft, nearly or quite sessile, the divisions linear or lanceolate ; uppermost leaves simple, lanceolate or linear entire. Sepals horizontally spreading. Receptacle more or less villose at the base of the spike. Beak of achznia hooked. In these four points there is no constant or marked difference between the pre- sent plant and the two following. They are here added therefore once for all.
In habit, size of parts and stature, this species resembles much more the Canarian than any form or state of the Madeiran plant. This is perhaps conformable to the greater dryness of the Cretan and Canarian, compared with the Madeiran climate, however disaecordant with the geographie station of the plants.
In the Appendix to the second edition of * Primitizte Faunz et Flore: Mad.,' I was induced by the observations of my late friend Dr. Charles Lemann, made in 1844, to refer the Madeiran R. grandifolius to this species. But after recent careful re-examination of the very same ma- terials in the Banksian and Hookerian Herbaria, on which he formed his opinion, with later additions of importance, I am constrained to draw a different conclusion. 2. Creticus, L., differs from R. grandi- Jolius in its altogether smaller size, humbler stature, weaker, more slender habit, more copious, softer, spreading, cottony pubescence, smaller, reniform, softer, coarsely and remotely inciso-crenate leaves, with few, short, broad, bluntish or rounded teeth or lobes, smaller, fewer, not corymbose flowers, larger spikes and achzenia (the latter often hispid), and tufted, not palmate root, with slender instead of fleshy, thick divisions: approaching in fact nearer to R. cortusefolius, Willd., though certainly distinct from that species by its copious, soft, villose pubescence, simple, not bulbous, cottony or silky, not substri- gose or setose hairs, light green, unspotted leaves, and eli short, thick, globose-ovate or oval spikes, with larger achzenia. I
R. Creticus, L., should be placed between Z. cortusafolius, Willd., and R. grandifolius: both of these being more nearly allied to it than
to each other. R. CORTUSÆFOLIUS, Willd. R. sparsim parciusve substrigoso-pubescens, pilis subsetosis brevibus
rariusculis, caulinis patentibus superne erecto-patentibus, folioram præsertim bulbosis; fol. submembranaceis sæpius nigro-maculatis,
68 ON CANARIAN AND MADEIRAN
radicalibus reniformibus incisis late parciusque vel remote grossicre-
natis, caulinis 3-5-partitis, summis sessilibus simplicibus lanceolatis
integerrimis ; fl. sparsis remotis distinctis, pedicellis gracilibus elon- gatis; sep. patentibus; spicis cylindrico-oblongis; ach. plerumque sparsim hispidis.
В. cortusefolius, Willd. Enum. 588; DC. Syst. i. 264; Prodr. i. 29;
Deless. Icon. i. t. 36 (opt.).
R. cortusefolius, a, rupestris (vix B, sylvaticus, nisi partim fortasse), Webb et Berth.! Phytogr. Canar. iii. (part. 2) 8, 9 (descr. opt.). “R. Tenerife, Pers. Ench. 2, 103," DC. Webb J. c. ; utroque ad var.
suam [ (omnino diversam) referente.
Has. In Ins. Canariensibus “in rupestribus graminosis regionis syl-. vatieze Teneriffæ, Canarie et Palme, etc.," Webb.
From Canarian specimens in the Banksian and Hookerian Herbaria, from Masson, Webb, Bourgeau, etc.
Root small, fascicled, with slender, tuberous divisions, as in Z. Cre- ficus, L. Stem 6—18 inches high, erect and branched, but scarcely corymbose, few-flowered, the whole habit altogether more slender than in R. grandifolius, and more like that of R. Creticus, L: Lower leaves * dark green," Webb, generally spotted with clear, defined, small, an- gular, black specks or dashes, but sometimes quite immaculate, broader than long, not above 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and though of thinner texture, yet in shape as well as size and crenation much resembling those of R. Creticus, L., differing however in their distinctly bulbous hairs, most conspicuous on their upper surface. Petioles clothed, like the stem and pedicels, with spreading hairs, which are rather callous- swollen than distinctly bulbous at the base. Flowers not corymbose, but few and scattered, as in R. Creticus, L., larger however than in that species (7. e. 1-13 inch in diameter) with пей more slender, elongated pedicels, Spike always distinctly oblong, viz. 6-7 lines long (N.B. Webb, by a misprint or slip in his description, has 6 poll. for 6 lin.), and 2—4 lines broad. Acheenia, especially the lower, almost always sprinkled with short, thick, glandular hairs, but occasionally i in robuster plants almost or quite smooth.
Webb having already well and fully pointed out the distinctive cha- racters of R. cortusefolius, compared with Z. Oreticus, I shall confine myself to those by which it is to be distinguished from its less near ally R. grandifolius.
SPECIES OF RANUNCULUS. 69
Compared with R. grandifolius, R. cortusefolius, Willd., is distin- guishable to the eye at once by its altogether less robust, stiff, coarse and hairy, in fact, somewhat comparatively delicate and slender habit, resembling rather that of R. acris, L., or bulbosus, Li, its more stiff or strigose, shorter, thinly sprinkled, spreading hairs, those of the leaves being distinctly bulbous, its smaller leaves less stiff and coarse in texture, crenate, with few broad, blunt teeth or lobes, and generally speckled with black, its smaller, fewer, remote, not crowded, corym- bose flowers, on long, slender, thin stalks, its fruit-spikes always cylin- dric-oblong, with the receptacle thickly hirsute at the base, and the acheenia mostly subhispid or sprinkled (especially the lower) with a few short, scattered, coarse, subglandular hairs. The root is also smaller, with less thick or fleshy divisions, fascicled in a close, round tuft or bundle, and not compressed or palmate.
Nothing like R. cortusefolius, Willd., as here restricted, has ever occurred in Madeira, either to myself or to any other botanist of my acquaintance. There exists however in the Banksian Herbarium an undoubted specimen of the plant, marked “1. Madeira, Fr. Masson,” pasted on the same sheet with another specimen, marked “ 2. Teneriffe, Fr. Masson, 1778 ;” the whole sheet thus occupied having been sub- - sequently marked by Professor De Candolle, prior to the publication of his * Systema,’ in his own handwriting, “ R. cortusefolius, W., B, Tene- riffe, Pers.,” although the upper stem or floral leaves are entire in No. 2 only. The habitat, Madeira, affixed to No. 1, I cannot but regard however as a mistake, arising from some accidental interchange of spe-
` cimens or tickets, possibly by Masson himself, who botanized in Tene- riffe after Madeira.
R. cortusafolius, B, Teneriffe, DC., if resting on no better authority than the above No. 2, is a very slight form or variety indeed, and scarcely worth distinguishing. The spikes in this specimen are how- ever more slender or linear-oblong (being only 2 lines broad and 6 long), than in any other specimen observed. It consists merely of the upper part of the plant or portion of a panicle (not corymb). The lower leaves are wholly wanting, but the hairs are bulbous on the rest, and the plant undoubtedly is nothing but a trifling form or state of the true R. cortusafolius, Willd., of Teneriffe.
On the other hand, it may be reasonably doubted whether R. cortu- — safolius, B, sylvaticus, Webb, be really a Canarian plant at all; and I
70 ON CANARIAN AND MADEIRAN
am strongly inclined to suspect that it was rather constituted chiefly, if not wholly, by its author, on his notes or recollections merely of the Madeiran R. grandifolius, gathered, as he says, with me in Ribeiro Frio in 1828 ; for if founded with Madeiran specimens before him, he could scarcely have passed over without notice the soft, silky, adpressed, not patent, strigose, or bulbous hairs, on which he dwells so much in his description, and other points at variance with his own exact account of the Canarian plant, nor have placed silently 2. grandifolius as a syno- nym to the latter. And it is even more improbable, that had he pos- sessed a genuine Canarian specimen, really agreeing with the Madeiran plant, that he would have constituted with it his var. 6, without ob- serving its essential difference froma. His characters, synonymy, and remarks on 6, are, in short, alike consistent with the idea that it was founded rather on imperfect notes or memory than on specimens, though it may possibly have been intended also to include some large, luxuriant state of the true Canarian plant; and it is very remarkable, in confirmation of this view, that neither in the Banksian nor Hookerian Herbaria are found Canarian specimens from either Webb himself, or Bourgeau, or any other person, even purporting to be Ж. cortusefolius, B, sylvaticus, of Webb.
В. GRANDIFOLIUS, Lowe.
R. subvilloso-pubescens hirsutiusculus, pilis sericeis simplicibus, caulinis adpressis; caule plerumque robusto erecto elato ramoso corymboso multifloro ramis patentibus subdivaricatis ; fol. rigidiuseulis subcoria- ceis immaculatis, radicalibus 2 v. 3 amplis orbiculato-reniformibus, sæpius subindivisis v. obtuse inciso-lobatis rarius pinnati-partitis, acute tenuiterque crebridentatis; caulinis 3-5-partitis, summis ses- silibus simplicibus lanceolatis integerrimis ; fl. dense corymbosis mag- nis, sep. patentibus; spicis abbreviatis obtusis globoso-ovalibus raro oblongis; ach. glaberrimis.
a. major ; caule robusto elato 2—4-pedali ; fol. lucidis radicalibus am- plissimis 5-12 poll. latis orbicularibus subindivisis obtuse lobatis nec partitis; corymbo vasto multifloro, fl. maximis ; spicis ovali-globosis.
R, grandifolius, Lowe! Prim. (Edit. 1. 1830) 38, non Meyer; Walp. Repert. 1. 36.
R. Oreticus, Lowe! Prim. (Edit. 2, 1851) App. v. vi., non Linn.
R. Creticus, Solander in Herb. Penka. ! non Linn.
SPECIES OF RANUNCULUS. 71
R. arcticus (misprint for creticus), Buch ! Verzeichniss, 195, no. 300.
R. cortusefolius, В. sylvaticus, Webb et Berth. Phytogr. Canar. iii. part 2, 8?
R. cortusefolius, B. sylvestris, Seub. Fl. Azor. 42.
R. cortusafolius, Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 4625! (hairs too spreading: de- scription in part only), not Willd.
R. megaphyllus, Steudel.
Has. In rupibus convallium (Rib. Frio, Rib. da Metade, de Fayal, de Seisal, Serra d'Agoa, Boa Ventura, etc. etc.) Maderse, ad alt. 2000— 5000 ped. ubique.
From Madeiran specimens in the Banksian and Hookerian Herbaria, from Masson, Lowe, Lemann, Vogel, ete., and from my own notes and observations in Madeira on the spot.
In its normal state, a, this is a very striking, large and handsome, though somewhat coarse, rough, hairy plant, of almost gigantic size and stature in its genus, and of a noble appearance from its ample, bright-green, shining leaves, and very large, broad, crowded corymb of numerous, large, handsome flowers, like enormous Buttercups, conspi- cuous at considerable distances on the ledges, or within the clefts of high rocks or cliffs in the ravines, which is their usual place of growth. —Root very large, often (but not constantly) palmate or subpedate, with large, thick, fleshy, tuberous divisions, which are mostly smooth or naked. Stem from 2 to 4 feet high, or even more, and often as thick as the little-finger, stout, firm, succulent, very erect and straight, much branched upwards, the branches stiffly patent, clothed like the stem with almost always close-pressed, opake, soft, simple hairs, varying in quantity and length. Leaves of a peculiar light yellow-green, shining, though clothed all over, generally copiously, with simple, never bulbous, hairs, always immaculate, of a somewhat firm or rough, strong stiffish feel or substance: the lowest two or three, of great size and beauty, more or less incised between the five or six broad round shallow lobes, but appearing undivided and simply orbicular, or reniform : their edges finely and numerously cut, with fine sharp teeth: their petioles often a foot long, clothed with adpressed hairs, and with the sheaths at their base equally hairy. Flowers rather sweet-smelling, densely corymbose and numerous, very large, 13-23 inches in diameter, the petals being 1-1} inch long, bright, full golden shining yellow. Sepals softly- hairy, very concave, horizontally patent, not reflexed, the edges of the
72 ON CANARIAN AND MADEIRAN
outer scariose. Spikes short, oval, or globose, never, as far as I have
observed, distinctly oblong. Achenia quite smooth, with a hooked
beak. Receptacle slightly hairy at the base.
The following aberrant form or state, 8, is only found either on very moist grassy banks, or by streams and in thickets at high elevations, and subject in both cases to almost constant damp or moisture. Its main characteristics therefore. of humbler stature, more divided foliage, and greater hairiness, under these circumstances, are directly contrary to the usual effects of greater humidity on individuals of the same species. Still the intermediate links of the two forms, a and 8, are so close and numerous as to forbid their further separation. The latter is thus characterized :—
B. minor; humilior, plerumque ditioni; caule 6-24-pollicari ssepius pedali minus ramoso; fol. radicalibus minoribus 2—4 poll. latis pin- natipartitis sc. profundius divisis et incisis ; corymbo paucifloro ; fi. paullo minoribus ; spicis aliquando oblongis.
P “ R. Oreticus, var. macrophyllus, Lindl. Bot. Reg. 1432.”
From Madeiran specimens in the Hook. Herb. from Lowe, Lindley, etc., and one Azorian (Caldeiras, Fayal, 1838) from Guthnick and Hochstetter, and from my own original descriptions taken in Madeira on the spot.
Root fasciculate, tufted, like R. Asiaticus, L., the tuberous divisions more or less tomentose. Stem erect, from 6 to 12 inches bigh, in more luxuriant plants from 1 to 2 feet high, its base often purplish, clothed throughout, and thickly in the smaller forms, with white or hoary, silky (not pellucid), close-pressed hairs. Root-leaves generally two, rarely three, deeply laciniate or cleft into five principal lobes, the nar- rowish divisions sharply cut and toothed, on both sides densely hirsuto- pubescent, the hairs quite simple; petioles 2—4 inches long, and with their sheaths hairy, the hairs generally adpressed, sometimes patent. Flowers few, but corymbose, 1-2 inches in diameter. Sepals softly villoso-pubescent, filmy at the edges, concave, horizontally spreading, not reflexed at any stage. Petals bright, full golden shining yellow. Spikes globosely oval, sometimes approaching to oblong, occasionally (in the Paul da Serra plant) distinctly oblong, viz. 6—9 lines long, and 3-4 lines broad. Achenia quite smooth, with a hooked beak, There are two forms or subvarieties of B, one taller and less hairy,
from the Paul da Serra chiefly; the other more villose and of generally
SPECIES OF RANUNCULUS. 73
lower stature, occurring on grassy banks near the foot of the waterfall in the Ribeira de Santa Luzia.
I regret my inability to verify the reference to t. 1432 of the * Bota- nical Register ;’ but, from the existence of two apparently garden spe- cimens in the Hookerian Herbarium on the same sheet, one being the Paul da Serra taller state of 8, the other the smaller, more villose Ri- beira de Santa Luzia form, marked “ R. grandifolius, Lowe, Madeira, Dr. Lindley,” the above synonym most probably belongs to one or the other of these forms of B. `
The synonym of Seubert's * Flora Azorica’ belongs certainly to a; but the single, remarkably shaggy Azorian specimen from Guthnick and Hochstetter, іп the Hookerian Herbarium, as certainly belongs to £.
T. 4625 of the ‘ Botanical Magazine’ well represents the normal state, a, of the Madeiran plant, except the erecto-patent hairs, which are at variance not only with its usual aspect, but with the original particular specimen itself, happily preserved in my kind and valued friend’s mag- nificent Herbarium. Still in the native plant I have occasionally met with a few rare, and, as it were, accidental instances of variation from the almost constant close-pressed character of the cauline hairs; and they may have possibly become more close-pressed in the dried than in the recent plant. The uncoloured spike also on the right-hand side of the plate is more distinctly oblong than I have ever noticed it to be in a, and might have been sketched in from a specimen of R. cortusa@folius, Willd., not separated in the Herbarium from Z. grandifolius. The de- scription has been principally drawn up from the plant figured, except * hairs dilated at the base,” and “ laterally hairy ovary ;” characters which, neither existing in the Madeiran plant, nor in the original spe- cimen here figured, can only have been taken from some specimen of
the true R. cortusafolius, Willd. oe R. grandifolius, in its normal state, a, is once y distingui from
both R. Creticus, L., and R. cortusefolius, Willd., by its great size, large a
foliage and flowers, coarser, more robust, stout habit, and close-pressec pubescence. The sharply-toothed, not crenate root-leaves, close-pressed pubescence of the stem, corymbose inflorescence, and always smooth achzenia, again distinguish it in both its varieties from the same plants; and it differs further from R. cortusefolius, Willd., in its never bulbous hairs or spotted leaves, and rarely oblong fruit-spikes. In f, as to size
and stature, it approaches nearest to R. Creticus, L., but the spy y
L VOL. IX.
74 MADEIRAN SPECIES OF RANUNCULUS.
cut and toothed root-leaves, the close-pressed, however copious, hoary or silky pubescence of the stem, aud smooth achenia, remain to mark it; and whilst it is certain that ñ is a mere form of a, it is equally cer- tain that it is not one caused by a drier soil and climate, such as that of Crete, but the reverse. Let it be noted well, that even the smaller, more villose states of 8, which most seem to approximate towards A. Creticus, L., are from much moister situations than those in which a usually occurs, growing at an altitude of nearly 3000 feet above the sea, on a grassy bank a little below a waterfall of 600—800 feet, at the head of a narrow gorge or ravine of enormous depth, exposed to per- petual spray, and with only five or six hours' sunshine in the height of summer; whilst the other taller form, less hairy perhaps, but with equally divided leaves, is found on the flanks or summit of the lofty Paul da Serra, by streams or in thickets, at an elevation of above 5000 feet, bathed in almost continual mist and vapour for at least three- fourths of the year. Thus f does not owe in апу case its more divided leaves, smaller stature, and greater villosity to a drier soil or climate, for it occurs only in a moister and a colder. And thus, that state of R. grandifolius which appears in form and aspect nearest to the Cretan species, is precisely that which, in the conditions of its place of growth as to humidity, most differs from it.
If indeed the Madeiran plant were found to increase in resemblance to the Cretan, as it grew in a drier soil or situation, some presumption would be afforded for considering it to be a mere local form of the lat- ter species. But the contrary is the case. I have frequently trans- planted « to my garden at the Valle or the Levada de Santa Luzia, the one about 400, the other about 600 feet above the sea, from Rib. Frio and elsewhere ; and notwithstanding the great comparative deficiency of shade and moisture, they have constantly retained all their peculiar characters.
I have never seen a ‘taken genuine specimen of R. grandifolius from any other country than Madeira or the Azores.
The question of priority between R. grandifolius, Lowe (Prim. ed. 1, Nov. 1830), and R. grandifolius, C. A. Meyer in Ledebour’s Flora Altaica, vol. ii. 1830, cannot well be settled. The name however has been long very generally associated with the Madeiran plant; and in the absence of clear proof that it belongs to the other, it seems better to retain it for the same, and to call the Altaic plant 2. Meyeri, after its first describer.
GENERA OF ACANTHACEX. 15
I take the opportunity of adding that I have discovered my Spergu- laria or Lepigonum fallax (Journ. of Botany, viii. 289, 290), to be Arenaria flaccida of Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 447 ; and that the plant appears, from specimens in the Hookerian Herbarium, to be a common weed in India, the Himalaya, etc., as elsewhere. Roxburgh says, “It is only found during the cold season as a weed in gardens about Calcutta, and may have been accidentally introduced from Europe.” It seems to have been very frequently called by Indian botanists Spergula pentandra, L., but its constantly three-valved capsule and smooth flower-stalks at once distinguish it. In “ 8. pentandra, L., Hooker and Thomson’s Herb. Ind. Or.,” from Sikkim and Khasia, the capsules are five-valved, and the pedicels glandular-pubescent. On the other hand, the speci- mens from “ Him. Вог. Occ. Regio trop.” are certainly Z. fallax.
** 5. pentandra, Griffith, n. 1629, Afghanistan,” by authentic speci- mens in the Hookerian Herbarium, is unquestionably Г. fallax ; and hence Spergula pentandra, L., var. intermedia, Boissier, Diagn. Pl. Or. nov. ser. 2, pp. 93, 94, must be the same, correcting his reference to * Bourgeau, exs. 1845, n. 410,” into either 1849, n. 410, or into 1845, n. 334,
As Mr. Bentham has kindly pointed out, Medicago calcar, Journ. of Bot. viii. 291, is probably identical with M. Helix, Willd.
On PROFESSOR NEES VON EsENBECK's Genera of ACANTHACEA, in the eleventh volume of De Candolle’s ‘Prodromus;’ бу GrorcE BEN- THAM, Esa. А ;
On the occasion of naming the Acanthacee in the herbarium of the late Dr. Lemann for the University of Cambridge, at the same time that Dr. Hooker was arranging his Indian collections of that order, I have had an opportunity of comparing the specimens named by Profes- sor Nees von Esenbeck in two extensive sets. At the time he was preparing them for the eleventh volume of the * Prodromus," he had, : amongst many others, the whole of the -Acanthacee from Sir William Hooker’s herbarium, and from my own, and, after completing the work, he returned them with his names attached, and in numberless instances these were the original specimens described. We have therefore had the inestimable advantage of two large sets of authentic specimens as
points of comparison.
76 ON NEES VON ESENBECK’S
Like other Monopetale irregulares, the Acanthacee present consider- able difficulties in working from dried specimens. The corollas are generally of a delicate texture, and not easily softened without injury, their precise forms are difficult to ascertain, and they are often so few оп a specimen that the observations made upon one can seldom be veri- fied upon others. Professor Nees has met these difüculties by great care and patience, and his descriptions are conscientiously exact, and directed to such tangible points as the specimens afforded. |
There are indeed numerous cases where allied species, which he con- sidered as sufficiently distinct in the specimens he examined, have proved wholly untenable when attempted to be marked out among the far greater mass now in the Kew Herbaria; but in this respect Pro- fessor Nees has not gone near so far as some other modern systema- tists, and moreover that is a question upon which there is, and always will be, considerable difference of opinion. What is really to be re- gretted is the excessive multiplication of genera upon characters which all botanists who have worked after him have failed to appreciate, and of which it would appear he could not himself have had any very clear conception.
There is no doubt that the limits of the old genera Ruellia, Justicia, Barleria, Dicliptera, etc., were vague and ill-defined, and that they
| each included a vast heterogeneous mass which required grouping and separating upon a large scale; and, in as far as separating is concerned, Professor Nees has been most laborious in the search for available cha- racters. But that was not all that was required. In a mass of near ‚ 1800 species (reducible probably on a careful revision to below 1200), it was not enough to establish about 150 mostly small technical genera ; it was necessary to form a more limited number of large natural groups. as well defined as cireumstances admitted of, call them genera, tribes, or subtribes, and in this he appears to have failed. His work was ana- lytical, not synthetical, and this was perhaps a necessary consequence of the way in which he proceeded. He did not go through the whole at once; he began with the East Indian ones, established numerous genera without reference to American forms, then took up African and afterwards American Acanthacee, and, when he came to work the whole together for the * Prodromus," appears to have been far too much com- mitted to these special isolations to condense them upon new prineiples into any more general and natural groups. "This is an operation we
GENERA OF АСАМТНАСЕЖ. 77
have still to expect from some botanist who, with Professor Nees’s in- exhaustible patience and scrupulous exactness in the examination of so difficult a tribe, may be possessed of a more methodical mind, and a greater aptitude for seizing at a glance and generalizing the distinctive marks of the larger groups, always more or less indicated by nature. As evidence in support of the presumption that Professor Nees him- self did not clearly comprehend his own genera, I would instance the following species, which have been twice described by him in different genera, as shown by authentic specimens in the two above-mentioned herbaria. I do not include some cases where there are slight differ- ences which he might have considered as generic, although we might not regard them even as specific ; but the great majority of the subjoined are identical specimens, that is, specimens from the same station and collector communicated as identical, and in all cases each specimen an- swers to Nees’s description in both places which he has assigned to them. Ihave not either included specimens inadvertently misnamed by him, as that may frequently occur by accident in naming large masses of plants, but have confined myself to authentic original speci- mens described ; and were we to pursue this comparison with the origi- nal specimens in the East Indian and other herbaria he had before him at the time, there is little doubt but that the list might be considerably extended. My object is to plead some excuse for those who, like my- self, in naming Acanthacee, have been so often unable to fix upon the Neesian genus to which they should be referred, and to show the ne- cessity of a general revision and consolidation throughout the Order.
Hygrophila Schottiana, N. ab E. in Prod. р. 87 = Calophanes crinitus, N. ab E. ib. p- 107. x
Stenosiphonium diandrum, N. ab E. p. 105 = Endopogon consanguineus, N. ab E. p. 104.
Trienanthus Grifithianus, N. ab E. p. 169 = Strobilanthes Jfaccidifolius, N. g E. p. 194.
Goldfussia Zenkeriana, N. ab E. p. 172= — Strobilanthes ciliatus, N. ab E. De ‘in
Mackenziea sessilis,* N. ab E. p. 308 = Strobilanthes cerinthoides, N. ab E. p. 184.
Monothecium glandulosum, N. ab E. p. 310 = Rostellularia tee н нея.
р. 373. Heinzelia ovalis, N. ab E. р. 314 = Chatothylax umbrosus, N. ab E. p. 318.
imen described by Nees was inscribed:
* The ticket attached to the only “Ceylon, J. S. Make” bat in a nding whieh spperentiy be could not ell
make out.
78 ON UDORA OCCIDENTALIS
Rhytiglossa radicosa, N. ab E. p. 844 — Rostellularia sarmentosa, N. ab E. p. 370.*
tostachya Martiana, N. ab E. Rhytiglossa Havanensis, N. ab E. р. a [1 achya Martiana a
k š р. 381, a species scarcely distinct Rhytiglossa acuminata, N. ab E. p. 354 boh the imm P ET
Sericographis squarrosa, N. ab E. р. 364— Beloperone Amherstie, N. ab E. p. 419. Leptostachya Zeylanica, N. ab E. р. 879 = Adhatoda Hookeriana, N. ab E. р. 408. Adhatoda dipteracantha, N. ab E. p. 396 = Monechma pilosella, N. ab E. p. 412. Dicliptera clinopodia, N. ab E. p. 483 — Hypoestes clinopodia, N. ab E. p. 508.
There is moreover the greatest confusion among the specimens marked by him Strodilanthes scabra and Ruellia aspera, which are surely all congeners.
So also the names of PA/ogacanthus asperulus, guttatus, and thyrsi- огиз, Thyrsacanthus Indicus, and Loxanthus Gomezii, are repeatedly interchanged and intermixed. There appear to be amongst them three distinct species, but all evidently congeners.
The two species of Leucorhaphis have already been shown by Sir W. Hooker to be identical with Belanthera.
Numerous other notes that Dr. Hooker and myself have taken in the course of our examinations relate chiefly to the identity or confu- sion of species; the above are selected as the most striking that occurred to us relating to the demarcation of genera.
On Udora occidentalis, Koch (Hydrilla verticillata, Caspary), and Ser- pieula occidentalis, Pursh (Anacharis Alsinastrum, Bab.); by Dr. ROBERT Caspary, of Bonn.
(Translated from the ‘Botanische Zeitung’ of December 19, 1856.)
The other day I received from Professor Al. Braun a specimen of one of the rarest German plants, Udora occidentalis, Koch, from a new habitat, namely from the little Selmentsee, near Lyck, where it grew in two feet of water, in company with Chara ceratophylla and C. jubata.
* These are, of course, not identical specimens, being from different countries, but there appears no doubt as to their specific identity.
+ Professor Nees enumerates seventeen species under Leptostachya, “ Genus ma- gis inflorescentia et habitu quam characteribus strictis definitum." Two of these are subsequently referred by himself to Rhaphidospora, one is repeated under Adhatoda, four have the habit and inflorescence of Rhytiglossa pectoralis, and the commonest of these four is twice repeated in Rhytiglossa, five more which I have seen appear to me to have in these respects no common resemblance to L. comata or Martiana, hemi ag with many other Justicioid genera; the remaining five are un-
nown to me.
AND SERPICULA OCCIDENTALIS. 79
I have been long engaged in studying the Anacharidee, for the purpose of ascertaining the distribution of the plant of the Dammschen Sea, and have found that Koch knew all about it ; it is essentially different from the American Serpicula occidentalis, which was collected by Moser near Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, and of which I have examined and
identified specimens in the Herbaria of Vienna, Leipsic, J. Gay, and
Sir W. Hooker.
Serpicula occidentalis, Pursh.
1. Serratures of the leaves of only one cell.
2. Stipule intrafoliaceæ very minute (hitherto overlooked in both species), ovate or almost quite orbicular.
3. At the base of the branches are
The diagnoses of the species are as follows :—
Udora occidentalis, Koch:
1. Teeth (not serratures) of the leaves with several (three to eight) cells.
2. Stipulæ intrafoliaceze oblong or ob- long-lanceolate, and wrinkled on the margin with long, linear papille.
3. At the base of the branches is a
solitary, amplexicaul leaf, with its back to the axis.
two equal, triangular, ovate, opposite leaves,
The whorls of leaves of the middle of the American plant are further
only three-fold, or rarely four-fold, whilst in the Pomeranian plant they are four- to seven-fold, seldom three- or eight-fold: this last difference Reichenbach has well pointed out. -
I find further that the Hydora Lithuanica, Andrz. (Besser in Flora, 1832, No. 1, p. 12), from the neighbourhood of Wilna, in Lithuania, agrees with the plant of the Dammschen Sea in the above points and in others of less importance, and that the Stettin plant has no affinity with the American plant, but is identical with the Serpicula verticillata, of which I saw the original specimen in the Linnean Herbarium in London, and which is found in the East Indies, Ceylon, Java, China, Australia, and the Mauritius, but under several different forms.
Claude Richard has properly separated the Serpicula verticillata from that genus (whose first described species is a native of South Africa, and belongs to Haloragee), and has called it Hydrilla ovalifolia, placing it amongst Hydrocharidee. The name ovalifolia was however derived from a rather uncommon form, with short leaves, and was hence inap- propriate to the whole species; and the specific name of verticillata having been indiscriminately applied by Linn. fil., Sprengel, Mühlen- berg, Hooker, and others, to all the species, induced me to reject it also, following a common practice, and to give that of Hydrilla dentata (from the characteristic toothing of the leaves). But there is another
80 ON SERPICULA OCCIDENTALIS.
consideration : the rules of priority are thereby broken, and as there is no Hydrilla verticillata, and no confusion can arise from using it, I shall now propose that name for the Serpicula verticillata, L. fil.
The Dammschen Sea, Wilna, and Lyck specimens of H. verticillata include two forms; one of these has long, almost linear-lanceolate, slightly recurved, membranous leaves, plane at the margins, and with long (often very long) internodes; it is commoner in the Dammschen Sea, and rare near Wilna, growing in deep water; this I call var. gracilis, rejecting the earlier name, Pomeranica, because it is only geographical, and the same variety is also found in India. The other form has some- what lanceolate, attenuate, recurved leaves, more or less crumpled at the margins, and of a thicker texture, having also much shorter inter- ` nodes, whieh are hardly so long as the leaf; this form is found near Wilna, and also in India and China; I shall call this var. crispa, and ` withdraw the earlier name of Lithuanica, as being too geographical ; it grows in shallow water. The plant found by Herr Sanio, near Lyck, is var. crispa, although more membranous than even the Wilna plants usually are.
I had early in this year suggested to Herr Sanio that Hydrilla verti- cillata might occur in the lakes of Eastern Prussia, the plant having a decidedly eastern range, and I am rejoiced that my surmise has proved correct.
Bonn, December 1, 1856.
These valuable observations settle the question of the assumed native origin of the Anacharis Alsinastrum in England, that plant being un- doubtedly Pursh's Serpicula occidentalis, a species not found in Europe or anywhere in the Old World, though abounding in both temperate and tropical America. ` ;
With regard to the synonymy of the Old World Hydrilla, we should have been content, in a case of so much perplexity and confusion, to have followed Dr. Caspary in adopting his new specific name of dentata, though, as he has now withdrawn that.in favour of the older one of verticillata, we are bound to adopt the latter. In deference also to the great service he has rendered in clearing up these obscure plants, bota- nists will no doubt further adopt his names of crispa and gracilis for the two varieties, though we do not think that those of Pomeranica and Lithuanica were at all objectionable. Specific names do not necessarily refer to characters in the plants themselves to which they are applied ;
REVISION OF THE GENUS TANJECIUM. 81
they may commemorate individuals or circumstances connected with their discovery, as the place where they were originally found, and as such are not only unobjectionable, but highly instructive. Precisely the same objection might be made by another purist to crispa, as Dr. Cas- pary makes to Lithuanica, for the plant is not crisped, and only the margins of its leaves are so. Dr. Caspary is an accomplished botanist, who, by his observations on the germination of Orobanche, on the struc- · ture of the flowers of Crucifere, and on various other botanical subjects, has already earned a high reputation; he is about to publish a revision of the Anacharidee, and a monograph of Nympheacee, of the great value of which works we are well assured; and we have no doubt he will find (like many of his predecessors) that as his botanical horizon enlarges, his inclination to change specific names will diminish.
Revision of the Genus TANÆCIUM; by BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Ph. D., F.L.S.
In the sixth volume of this Journal I submitted a revision of those genera of Crescentiacee characterized by a deciduous, irregular (spatha- ceous or bipartite) calyx, and now I beg to offer a revision of those having a persistent, regular one, the section Zaneciee. І commence with the type of the section, the genus Zanecium. Amongst the va- rious species that have from time to time been referred to this genus, three must be excluded, viz.:—1. 7.? paniculatum, Sieb., which is doubtless a Bignoniacea proper, most likely a species of Arrabidea ; 2. T. pinnatum, Willd., which is identical with Kigelia pinnata, De Cand.; and 3. T. tripinna, Reusch, a synonym of Colea tripinnata, Seem. (Tripinnaria Cochinchinensis, Lour.), whilst two new ones (T. crucigerum, Seem., and T. lilacinum, Seem.) have to be added. The genus will then be found to consist of four well-defined species, all be- longing to the tropical parts of America, where they inhabit the woods and trail about the trees. They arrange themselves into two very natural groups, the one having non-rooting branches, compound, eco- riaceous leaves, and white, pubescent corollas ; the other, rooting branches, simple, coriaceous leaves, and glabrous corollas, of a scarlet, pink, or more or less bluish tint. The former is represented by T. crucigerum and albiflorum, the latter by T. parasiticum and det
VOL. IX.
82 REVISION OF THE GENUS TAN/ECIUM.
T. erucigerum is the old Bignonia crucigera of Linneus, well figured in Burrmann's edition of Plumier's work; 7. aldiflorum is the T. Ja- roba of Swartz, the alteration of the names having become necessary, as the * Jaroba " of Marcgrav, from which the old specific name was borrowed, is not, as Swartz supposed, a synonym of this plant, but, judging from the indifferent description and the rude woodcut, a Cu- curbitacea ;* T. parasiticum is a very characteristic species, the only one hitherto introduced into our gardens, which has fortunately no con- flicting synonymy; T. lilacinum was originally founded by me upon Miquel's Schlegelia lilacina ; latterly І have had reason to add to it S. elongata of the same author, and the doubtful Besleria ? violacea and B.? cerulea of Aublet. There are some discrepancies in the state- ments respecting the colour of the corolla. In the specimens I saw in Darien it was lilac; some people might call it pink. But Aublet had a specimen with blue corollas, and others with violet ones. I am not disposed to attach any specific importance to these differences, and shall look upon them merely as varieties.
TANÆCIUM, Swartz.
Calyx persistens, globoso-cylindraceus, obsolete 5-dentatus. ^ Corolla tubulosa, infundibuliformis, limbo 5-fido subæquali, lobis tubo bre- vioribus, 2 superioribus erectis approximatis paulum minoribus, in- ferioribus patentibus. Stamina 4, didynama, cum rudimento quinti ;
` anthere 2-loculares, loculis divergentibus. Discus glandulosus ovarii basin cingens. Stylus elongatus; stigma bilamellatum. Ovarium 1-loculare, multiovulatum, placentis parietalibis. Васса oblonga vel globosa, cortice fragili corticosa, 1- vel spurie 2-locularis; semina plurima, compressa seu angulata, in pulpa nidulantia; albumen nul- lum.—Frutices Americe tropice scandentes, sepe radicantes ; foliis
oppositis petiolatis simplicibus integerrimis, trifoliolatis vel geminatis cum cirrho intermedio ; foliolis petiolulatis integerrimis ; floribus ra- cemosis axillaribus vel terminalibus bracteatis bracteolatisque, corollis
* The description runs as follows :—Jaroba Brasiliensibus dicta, Casaca amargosa Lusitanis.—Altissimas arbores hæc planta ascendit, caule lento, tereti, qui hinc inde . in longis pediculis tria folia opposita habet Phaseoli modo, sunt autem plane similia folis Mucuna. Fructus autem similis fructus Cuete, sed ut plurimum minor, eadem pulps, iisdem miniin, ejusdem note dence nagka Reg. Nat. Brasil.
„1. p. 25.—The figure represents a m, Wita, Mira M trifoliolated leaves, and obovate, dotted fruits. |
REVISION OF THE GENUS TANACIUM. 83
albis coccineis, roseis violaceis vel lilacimis ; baccis ferrugineis vel
nigris.
The genus Zanecium is closely allied to PAyllarthron and Colea, but differs from both principally in its climbing habit and the shape of its corolla.
$ І. Caules ramique eradicantes, folia trifoliolata vel conjugato-bifolio- lata cum cirrho intermedio, foliola ecoriacea. Corolla pubescens, alba.
1. Tanæcium crucigerum, Seem. ; ramis punctatis, foliis trifoliolatis vel conjugato-bifoliolatis cum cirrho intermedio (abortu unifoliolatis), foliolis ovatis acuminatis, supra glabris, subtus pubescente-velutinis, racemis axillaribus terminalibusque simplicibus 5—8-floris, bracteis ovato-lanceolatis, bracteolis subulatis, corolla longe tubulosa pubes- cente, bacca oblonga.*—T, crucigerum, Seem. in Bonplandia, iv. 127. Bignonia crucigera, Linn. Spec. 869 (excl. syn. omnib. except. Plum.) 1 De Cand. Prodr. ix. 152. Bignonia foliis conjugatis cirrhosis ter- natis, Plum. ed. Burm. fasc. iii. р. 48. t. 58 (excl. syn. omnib. except. Linn.)!
This climber seems to be confined to the Carib Islands. I have seen specimens in Hooker’s Herbarium from Dominica (Jmray /) and St. Vincent (Guilding /). U 2. Tanecium aléiflorum, De Cand. ; ramis „чине foliis trifoliolatis
vel conjugato-bifoliolatis cum cirrho intermedio, foliolis ovato-oblon-
gis acuminatis utrinque glabris, bracteis . , bracteolis subulatis, corolla longissime tubulosa pubescente, bacca oblonga maxima glabra.
—T. albiflorum, De Cand. Prodr. іх. 245. Т. Jaroba, Swartz, Fl.
Ind. Occ. ii. 1050. £. 20. f. 1 (excl. sym. Матор. et ideo nomine !).
Cucurbitifera, Sloane, Hist. ii. 1181 Browne, Jamaic. p. 266, n. 6.
Found in Jamaica (Robins! Distan! Wright! Swartz!/); British Guiana (R. Schomburgk, n. 8291), and in woods near Омо Prov.
Ceara, Brazil (Gardner, n. 1765 1). x
$ 2. Caules ramique radicantes, folia simplicia coriacea. Corolla prs lilacina, violacea ecrulescens rosea vel coccinea (Schlegelia, Mig. Л).
3. Tanæcium parasiticum, Swartz; foliis ovatis oblongis acuminatis utringue glabris, racemis axillaribus simplicibus 2-12-floris, corolla
tabaca replent, secumque por-
* Fructus optime representat iii. p. 48
capsulam tant, il saber in Hort. Cliff. Plum. ed Burm.
84 BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
(coccinea) glabra, bacca globosa glabra (ferruginea), seminibus angu-
lato-oblongis parvis.—T. parasiticum, Sw. Fl. Ind. Occ. ii. 1053. Z.
20. f. 2. De Cand. Prodr. ix. 945! Crescentia, Browne, Jamaic.
p. 266. ». 5!
Common in the woods of Jamaica (Swartz! Purdie! Alexander !); near San Gabriel da Cachoeira, Rio Negro, Brazil (Spruce, n. 2243 1). 4. Taneecium lilacinum, Seem. ; foliis ovatis ovato-ellipticis vel lanceo-
lato-oblongis utrinque glabris, racemis paniculatis, bracteis ovato-
oblongis acuminatis, bracteolis lineari-lanceolatis linearibusque pube- rulis, corolla glabra (lilacina, rosea, vel violacea), bacca ovali (nigra).
—T. lilacinum, Seem. Bot. Herald, p. 182. Schlegelia lilacina, Mig.
in Bot. Zeit. ii. (1844), 788. Stirp. Surinam. р. 116. cum icon. De
Cand. Prodr. ix. 564! 8. elongata, Mig. in Linn. xxi. 73. Stirp.
Surin. р. 118. Besleria? violacea, Сиб. Guian. ii. 630. f. 254!
B.? ceerulea, нб]. L е. p. 631!
Ranges over Darien (Seemann /), Surinam (Focke, Kegel ! sec. Miquel), and French Guiana (sec. Aublet).
Species excluse :
T. ? paniculatum, Sieb. = Bignoniacea. |
T. pinnatum, Willd.— Kigelia pinnata, De Cand. T. tripinna, Raeush.= Colea tripinnata, Seem.
BOTANICAL INFORMATION.
Botteri s Mexican Plants.
M. Botteri is well known to botanists—firstly, by his excellently pre- pared plants of Dalmatia, and since, by a very considerable collection of Mexican plants, the property of the Horticultural Society of London, which were lately sold at the sale of the Herbarium of that Society, and for which there was much competition,—partly due to the perfect state of the specimens, and partly from the difficulty of procuring Mexican plants at all. Several sets of similarly prepared species, numbered and named by Dr. Seemann, varying in amount of species in each set from 300 to 400 of flowering plants and Ferns, are placed in the hands of Mr. Samuel Stevens, 24, Bloomsbury Street (W. C.)
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 85
London. Mr. Stevens will be glad to receive the names of any persons who are disposed to become subscribers, and who, besides enriching their own herbaria, would be a means of encouraging a very deserving person, who without such assistance cannot be expected to continue his researches in a very expensive country, of which the vegetation is very little known either in the garden or in the horti sicci of the country. The price for the dried plants is 40s. the 100 species, free of any other charge. ч
ABIES NOBILIS, bearing Cones in the North of Scotland.
A. W. M'Tier, Esq., has been so good as to send us recently some fine Cones of this noble Pine of Oregon Territory, produced on a tree of only sixteen years, planted at Durris House, near Aberdeen. Though well formed, and of a good size, very few have ripened seeds, yet there was no lack of male flowers. The tree has already attained a height of twenty-two feet, having in one season made a growth in the leader of three feet three inches; and, notwithstanding this is the first year of its bearing, the number of cones counted is upwards of forty. In the same locality, a few miles up Deeside, we believe, and not very near “the sea, Abies Douglasii, sixteen years planted, is forty-two feet high, and has borne cones for the last two seasons, but these are generally barren. In one season its growth was six feet. Araucaria imbricata there is doubtfully hardy, and requires peculiar situations, such as are but little exposed to the sun. Samegothea conspicua stood out the winters of 1853 and 1854 untouched, but seems of slow growth; and Cryptomeria Japonica promises well with a northern aspect.
` Plants of M. Huet du Pavillon.
M. Huet du Pavillon (Rue Verdaine, n. 266, Geneva) and his brother returned in the autumn from their excursions into Sicily, Calabria, and the Abruzzos, as we announced in our Journal for last year (p. 380). Their botanical collections are now about to be distri- buted, and we are perfectly sure that from the rarity of many of them and the beautiful preservation of the whole they will give great satisfaction. :
86 “NOTICES OF BOOKS.
M. Huet du Pavillon has received from Chili twelve (and only twelve) beautiful sets of the plants of that country, all named * des environs de Talea, de Santiago, de Conception, de Chillan," and the majority of them “des hautes Andes." They are collected by Mr. Ph. Ger- main. A very few of these sets remaining on hand, consisting each of about 200 species, are offered at 50 franes the century.
x
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
ENGELMANN, GEORGE, M.D.: Synopsis of the CACTACES of the Ter- ' ritory of the United States and Adjacent Regions. (From the Pro- ceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol: iii.) 8vo. Cambridge, U.S. 1846.
Dr. Engelmann, the very zealous and able Botanist, late of St. Louis, Missouri, has done good service to the cause of Botany in the publi- cation of this Synopsis. The Cactacee of the United States have been the objects of his study for several years past. “ Тһе only Cactus known to Linn:zus from the countries north of Mexico was his Cactus. Opuntia (Opuntia vulgaris). Long after him—more than forty years ago—Nuttall, the pioneer of West American Botany, discovered two Mainillarie and two Opuntie on the Upper Missouri; and, again, twenty years later, in California, a new Echinocactus. About ten years ago we became acquainted with numerous Cactacee,—in Texas, through Mr. Е. Lindheimer ; in New Mexico, through Dr. A. Wislizenius; and in Northern Mexico through the same explorer and Dr. J. Gregg. Some others, and among them the giant of Cacti (Cereus giganteus), were indicated in the Gila country by the then Lieutenant W. H. Emory. Soon afterwards Mr. A. Fendler collected several new species about Santa Fé. Mr. Charles Wright, a few years later (1849), disco- vered in Western Texas and Southern New Mexico still other undescribed Cacti. But the greatest addition to our knowledge of the Cactacee of the southern part of the United States was made by the gentlemen connected with the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission, at first under Colonel Graham, and subsequently under Major Emory. Science is indebted principally to Dr. С. С. Parry, Mr. Charles Wright, Dr. J. M. Bigelow, Mr. George Thurber, and Mr. A. Schott for valuable collec-
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 87
tions of living as well as dried specimens, and for full notes taken on the spot. About the same time, Mr. A. Trécul, of France, and, after him, Dr. H. Poselger, of Prussia, traversed Southern Texas and Northern Mexico, collecting many Cactacee and increasing our knowledge of this interesting branch of botanical science."
“The Pacific Railroad Expedition since 1853 has opened fields not before explored; and Dr. Bigelow, the botanist and physician of Captain A. Whipple’s expedition along the 35th parallel, availed himself of these opportunities in a most successful manner; while Dr. F. V. Hayden, almost unaided in his adventurous expedition, has ex- tended our knowledge of the northernmost Cacíacez in the regions of the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. The last—but by no means the least—addition was made in 1854 and 1855 by Mr. Arthur Schott, during the exploration under Major Emory, of the country south of the Gila River, known as the Gadsden Purchase."
Such are the resources whence have been derived the materials of the present drochure of sixty pages. These came into the hands of one who has made a good use of them ; but few of the discoveries had been yet given to the publie, — partly,” says Dr. Engelmann, “ because the mate- rial on hand was often incomplete ; partly because it seemed desirable to publish the whole in an elaborate form, with the reports of the Boun- dary Commission and those of the Pacific Railway surveys. These reports are now in preparation, but the splendid plates which are to illustrate the Natural History of these plants cannot be furnished for some time. It is therefore deemed advisable now to publish short de- scriptions of the new species, and systematically to arrange them with those before known.
On this plan 99 species are given, the greater part of them entirely new. Of Mamillaria there are 30 species; of Echinocactus, 19; Cereus, 31; and of Opuntia no less than 50 species. A bou donet
Among the most remarkable of these must certainly be reckoned the Cereus giganteus of Engelmann,—already described and well figured in Emory’s Report, 1848,—a plant of the Lower Gila, and between it and Sonora. Its stems are from 30 to 50 feet high, and from 1 to 2 feet in diameter; its habit, judging from the figures in Emory, is quite that of our well-known Cereus (or Pilocereus) senilis. We have nisa plants at Kew from seeds kindly sent to us by Dr. Engelmann. Cereus Thurleri has stems 10 to 15 feet high; Cereus Scholtii (8 to 10 feet
88 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
high) is placed in the Pilocereus section, but having the seed of a true Cereus, thus reuniting the two genera.
At p. 54 the author candidly acknowledges that, owing often to im- perfect materials and dried specimens, he may have increased the number of species more than he would probably have done had he perfect specimens and living plants before him: thus, for example, that . the 30 Mamillarie might be reduced to 22; 20 Echinocacti, to 15; 31 Cerei, to 18; and 50 Opuntia, to 31. The concluding pages of the Memoir are devoted to some remarks on the geographical distribution of the Cactacee in the territory of the United States: showing that the Atlantic region has only one single species, Opuntia (along the southern coast some West Indian species may be expected); the Mississippi re- - gion, 2 Mamillarie and З Opuntie ; the Texan region, 5 Mamillaria, 3 Echinocacti, 6 Cerei, and 6 Opuntie; the New Mexican region, the richest of all, yields 19 JMamillarie, 9 Echinocacti, 16 Cerei, and 22 Opuntia ; the Gila region has 5 Mamillarie, 6 Echinocacti, 1 Cerei, and 18 Opuntia ;