DR. G. KING ON THE GENUS FICUS. 39 
occupied by gall-flowers ; while perfect female flowers ocenr in 
a distinet set of receptacles and are unaccompanied by any trace 
of male or gall-flowers. 
It appears to me that, in the peculiarities in the structure and 
arrangement of the flowers which I have above described, the 
evolutionary history of the genus Ficus may to some extent be 
traced. I would therefore venture to arrange the Indo-Malayau 
species into two great groups, and to divide the second of these 
great groups into three subgroups, according to their presumed 
seniority. Believing that hermaphroditism is an archaic and 
primitive condition from which the genus is in process of delivery, 
I look on its persistence, even in an imperfect form, as an 
indication of age. I would therefore separate the ten species 
in which I find it regularly to occur into a distinct group. Of 
this group pseudo-hermaphroditism is the diagnostie mark ; and 
to the section which these ten species form I would give the 
name Paleomorphe. It is true that in the whole of these ten 
species the pseudo-hermaphrodite flowers are confined to the 
same receptacles as the gall-flowers, while the perfect females are 
confined to a distinct set of receptacles in which there is no 
trace of either males or galls, and that the receptacles are thus 
practically diccious. Still it appears to me that the persistence 
of the rudimentary female organ in the male flowers must be 
taken as indicating a more primitive condition than the enclosure 
in the same receptacle of strictly unisexual male and female 
flowers (the arrangement obtaining in Urostigma). These ten 
species being disposed of in a group by themselves, I would form 
the remaining species of Indo-Malayan Ficus into a group 
characterized by unisexual flowers. And that group I would 
divide into three subgroups, according as the receptacles are 
monecious, pseudo-monecious, or practically diccious, the 
practically dicecious subgroup being again subdivided into 
sections which are founded on the number of the stamens and 
the situation of the receptacles. For five of the seven sections 
into which I would thus throw the Indo- Malayan species I have 
adopted as sectional designations words previous! in use ag 
sectional or subgeneric names. For the first section, as already 
stated, I have invented a new name, which indicates what I 
believe to be its position in the evolution of the genus, and for 
the seventh I have also invented a new name, indicating its 
newness in point of evolution. The arrangement is as follows :-— 
