284 



ME. J. MIEES 0> T THE SYMPLOCACE^. 



The separation of the Symplocacea? as suggested by Don was 

 adopted by Endlicher in 1839 x , and by Miquel in 1856*. 



Prof. De Candolle, as we know, regarded Symplocos, in which 

 he included all the recorded genera, as a mere tribe of the Sty- 

 racece*, a view subsequently adopted by Messrs. Bentham and 

 Hooker 4 without offering any reasons. 



In pursuit of our plan, we will now proceed to describe the 

 several genera, which, according to the evidence adduced, consti- 

 tute the order, describing the generic characters at full length, 

 and supplementing each in their turn with a list of the species 

 recorded by authors, with their synonyms and references. 



Symplocos. 



This genus was established by Jacquin in 1763 s , and adopted 

 by Linnseus in the same year 6 , by Schwartz in 1791 7 , by Willde- 

 now in 1800 8 , by Lamarck in 1806 9 . Pohl, in 1831, published three 

 species under the name of St emmato siphon 10 , which he referred to 

 MeliacecB. Jussieu in 1830" commenting on that genus, showed 

 that it does not belong to Meliacece. Mr. Bentham demonstrated 

 in 1838 12 that the plants of Pohl were species of Symplocos. 



Mr. Bentham derived his generic characters of Symplocos from 

 a species found by Grardner (and by myself at the same time) 

 in the Organ Mountains. His analysis made from the dried 

 plant is quite in accord with that obtained by me from the 

 living plant, as shown by me in Lindley's * Veget. Kingdom, 

 I. c. p. 593 a, fig. 402, He correctly represents, in his plate re- 

 ferred to, five to seven petals agglutinated, as he saw them, and 

 half-coherent into a tube ; many stamens in three series half- 

 agglutinated at their base into a tube semiadnate to the tube of 

 the corolla ; but if he had been able to examine the flower in a 

 living state, he would have found that these parts could be sepa- 

 rated easily without the least degree of laceration ; in fact they 

 are all at first free, and they owe their subsequent agglutination 

 to a nectarial juice emitted by the disk. 



I Gen. p. 744 (exclus. Schcepfia). 

 3 Prodromus, viii. p. 246. 



5 PI. Amer. p. 1G6. 



7 Obs. p. 293, tab. 7. 



9 Diet vii. 524, tab. 455. 



II Mem. Mus. xix. p. 304. 



QO 



2 In ■ Flor. Brasil.' fasc. xvii. p. J 



4 Gen. Plant, ii. p. 668. 



• Sp. PL ii. 749. 

 . 8 Spec. PL ii. p. 1435. 

 i° PL Bras. Icon. tab. 157, 158, 159 

 12 Linn. Trans. xviiL pp. 232, 233. 



