15 



* BECIUM bicolor. 

 Two-coloured Becium. 



D1DYNAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA. 



Nat. ord. Labiate. 



BECIUM. Bot. Reg. 1842, misc. 44. Calyx bilabiatus ; labio supe- 

 riore dilatato decurrente inferiore truncato pilis brevissimis dense ciliato apice 

 biseto. Corolla bilabiata, tubo recto calyce longiore intus pubescente, labiis 

 sequalibus superiore 3-lobo lacinia media, fissa, convexo apice et margine revo- 

 luto, inferiore oblongo concavo. Stamina libera, longissiraa, declinata, ante 

 antbesin cum stylo circinata ; suprema basi dilatata villosa inferiora laevia 

 filiformia ; antherae ovatee, obtusse, glabrae. Ovarium disco 4-dentato om- 

 nino immersum. Stigma 2-lobum laciniis subulatis. 



B. bicolor. Lindl. I. c. 



Ocymum grandiflorum. UHerit. Stirp. 89. t. 43. 



0. abyssinicum. Hort. Par. fide Benth. 



0. filamentosum. Forsk.Jl. JEgypt. Arab. 100. Bentham Labiat. p. 8. 



Frutex pubescens. Folia ovato-lanceolata, serrata, impunctata. Verti- 

 cillastri subbiflori, spicati, bracteis cordatis undulatis acuminatis deciduis co/o- 

 ratis calyce longioribus. Corolla alba venis lilacinis. Stamina lilacina. 



"From among some Abyssinian seeds sent to the Horticul- 

 tural Society, from Paris, has been raised a plant of a genus of 

 Labiatae, which does not appear to be described. It is a shrub 

 with downy stems, ovate-lanceolate, serrated, slightly petio- 

 lated leaves, and verticillasters of beautiful flowers arranged 

 in short spikes. The calyx has a broad upper lip, like that of 

 an Ocymum, the lower lip is deep, truncate, bordered with a 

 close fringe of white hairs, and terminated in front by a pair 

 of feeble teeth. The corolla is large, white, with lilac veins, 

 and nearly an inch long. The upper lip is 3-lobed, with the 

 middle lobe split at the point, and the points of all rolled 

 back ; the lower lip is of about the same length, oblong and 

 concave. The stamens are four, declinate, bright violet, and 



* From firjKwv, one of the names assigned by Dioscorides to the Sage, 

 which this plant much resembles. 



