from Mr. Parmentier's collectioiij at Engliien, by Messrs. 

 Loddiges; and our drawing was made from a sample 

 which flowered in their nursery at Hackney in April last. 

 It is said to be very difficult to propagate, consequently 

 likely to continue rare. Probably native of Mexico, cer- 

 tainly of America, but not of New Holland, as has been 

 stated elsewhero. It ranks in the same natural order as the 

 Buckthorns of our own country; but the group to which it 

 has been generically restricted, is not represented in Europe 

 by any indigenous species, though it is in each of the other 

 quarters of the world. 



Branches round, tomentose, slightly tawny. Leaves 

 about 3 inches long, about one and a half broad, ovately 

 oblong, pubescent, soft, acuminated, serrated with teeth 

 headed by a minute cartilaginous spinous point, green above 

 and transparently pubescent, tomentose underneath and 

 slightly tawny, somewhat wrinkly veined above, nerved, 

 the three principal nerves prominent on the under, de- 

 pressed on the upper side. Panicles produced on opposite 

 axillary branchlets, short, thyrselike, axillary and termi- 

 nal, the former simple, the latter compound, the partial 

 ones separated by thin dry bractes in the place of leaves ; 

 pedicles one-flowered filiform simple equal hairy disposed 

 in fascicles separated by bractes from the base to the 

 top of a short tomentose peduncle. Flowers blue, when un- 

 opened nearly of the diameter of a Coriander seed . Calyic 

 coroUabearing, of rather a more opaque blue than th6 

 petals, oblately campanulate, slightly pentagonal, segments 

 ovately angular, membranous, convergent. Corolla up- 

 rightly spread; petals 5, vaultedly spatulate, situated in 

 the intervals of the segments of the calyx, radiately distinct, 

 equal; unguis linearly narrow, convolutely channelled, ta- 

 pered downwards; lamina helmetshaped, with the sides 

 deeper than the upper part, serving as the cradle of an an- 

 ther. iS'/amew* equal to the ^QidAs; filaments inserted into 

 the bottom of the calyx, upright; anthers yellow, round- 

 ovate, 4-lobed. Germen bright green, smooth, oblate, tri- 

 angular, surrounded by the thick glandular ring of the disk 

 of the calyx : style 3-parted, blue, divisions filiform, fascicled, 

 divergently recurved at the top, equal to the calyx* ter- 

 mmatii^ iii simple stigmatose points. 



