258 LT.-COL. D. PRAIN ON THE MANSONIER, 
exceptions to be accepted as a critical test. Not only are 
l-celled anthers to be met with in other genera that are ob- 
viously either Tiliaceous or Sterculiaceous, in the Bombacee, 
which are usually included in Malvaceae, it is possible to find 
9-celled as well as l-celled anthers in the same flower, and it 
often happens, even when the anthers are all 1-celled, that the 
filaments are intimately associated in pairs. 
The staminodia which, in Triplochiton and Mansonia, are 
situated between the stamens and the carpels point to Stercu- 
liacee rather than to Tiliacee as the more nearly related natural 
family. Their existence in the form of a corolla-like whorl of 
free phyllomes at the top of the gynandrophore imparts to the 
flower an appearance so remarkable that Schumann, as already 
explained, formed the opinion that we have here to deal with 
what is a distinct natural family. This, however, is a view that, 
as has been said above, it is not absolutely necessary to accept. In 
various Sterculiaceous genera, notably in Sterculia itself, there is 
a central column that is essentially in accord with the gynandro- 
phore of Triplochiton and Mansonia, the only difference is that 
at the top of the column in Sterculia the anthers are sessile, 
at the top of the gynandrophore in Triplochiton and Mansonia 
they are stalked. In Sterculia it is true the flowers are 1-sexual, 
but the importance of this character is diminished by the fact 
that l-sexual flowers are a constant feature in Schumann’s 
original species of Vriplochiton and are casually to be met with 
in Mansonia. Again, in many Sterculiacee, though not in Ster- 
culia itself, the presence of petaloid staminodia is one of the 
most characteristic features of the flower. The genus Pentapetes 
may in particular be cited * as one in whieh the staminodia 
markedly resemble those of Mansonia. It is true that in Penta- 
petes, as in most Stereuliaceous genera where the staminodia 
are petaloid, these organs are united below with each other and 
with the stamens in a common tube. This, however, is not 
a universal feature; in the curious genus Glossostemon T the 
stamens are united to staminodia, much resembling those of 
Mansonia, which are free from each other at the base. The 
conditions in Glossostemon are therefore almost exactly inter- 
mediate between those that occur in Mansonia and in Penta- 
petes. The features in the andreecium of 7'riplochiton on which 
* Botanical Register, t. 595. 
+ Hooker, Icon. Plant. t, 2542. 
