MELASTOMACE.E. I. Meriania. II. Axinjea. III. Chasten^a. IV. Lavoisiera. 



733 



diet. 4. p. 35. but not of D. Don. Petals obovate, yellow, and 

 red. Style exserted. Fruit 5-lobed, Connectives of stamens 

 drawn out into a spur at the base. Anthers bursting by 2 pores 



lanceolate, acuminated, denticulately serrated, 5-nerved, glabrous 



. S, Native 



at the apex 

 Obtuse-leaved Meriania. 



above; raceme' terminal, panicled, pendulous, 

 of Peru. 



^ 



Shrub 6-10 feet. 



Hanmna 



Shrub to 10 feet. 



5 M. prunif6lia (D. Don, in wern. soc. mem. 4. p. 223.) 

 branches terete ; petioles, peduncles, and nerves of leaves beneath 

 clothed with flocky, powdery, rufous down; leaves petiolate, 

 ovate, acute, crenulately-serrated, 3-nerved; flowers sessile, 

 solitary in the axils of the upper leaves and at the tops of the 

 branches ; calyx 10-striped. ^ . S. Native of Peru. Rh^xia 

 axillaris, Pavon. in herb. Moric. Tube of calyx ovate, nearly 

 10-ribbed, when young tomentose, but at length glabrous, 5- 

 lobed; lobes dilated at the base. Capsule 5-celled, 5-valved, 

 truncate at the apex. Seeds small, angular. Flowers purple. 



Plum-leaved Meriania. Shrub 6 feet. 



6 M. parvifl6ra (D. Don, 1. c.) leaves elliptic, acute, den- 

 ticulated ; peduncles trifid, 3-flowered. T2 . S. Native of Bra- 

 zil. Shrub erect, branched. Leaves more than an inch long. 

 Flowers small, rose-coloured. 



Small-flowered Meriania. Shrub. 



Cult. This is an elegant genus. The species grow best in a 

 mixture of peat and sand, and half- ripened cuttings root freely if 



planted in the. same kind of soil, with a hand-slass over them, 



la heat. 



Cult. This genus is composed of elegant flowering shrubs 

 like the last ; and its species are cultivated and propagated in 

 the same manner. 



III. CHASTEN^^A (in honour of Victorina de Chastcnay, 

 who drew and painted the plants collected by Madame Mcrian 



in an elegant style. 



Meriania and Calcndrier dcfli 



n. k\l^M ^(alivri^axiney a hatchet; form of petals). Ruiz 

 ct Pav. fl. per. syst. p. 122. D. Don, in wern. mem. soc. 4» 

 p. 320. D.C. prod. 3. p. 101. 



Lin. syst. Deca-Dodecdndria, Monogynia, Calyx cup- 

 shaped, naked at the base ; limb permanent, 5-6-toothed. Pe- 

 tals 5-6. Stamens ^^ '^ ' " '' ' " " 



D. C. prod. 3. p. 102. 



Lin. syst. Decandria^ Monogynm. Calyx naked at the 

 base, campanulate, truncate, entire. Petals 5, obovate. Sta- 

 mens 10; filaments flat; anthers linear, acute, bursting by 1 

 pore, having the connectives dilated into a large, rounded, and 

 perhaps hollow appendage. Style filiform ; stigma a pruinose 

 dot. Ovarium free, glabrous. Capsule 5-cellcd, opening at 

 the apex. Seeds unknown. — A smooth shrub, with the habit 

 of Meriania. Leaves petiolate, oval, 3-nerved, entire, coria- 

 ceous. Flowers pedicellate, ample, bractlcss, disposed some- 

 what in umbels at the tops of the branches and branchlets. 



1 C. MeriVni^ (D. C. 1. c). \i . S. Native of South 

 America, but in what place is unknown. Flowers purple, ac- 

 cording to the dried specimen. 



Merian^s Chastenaea. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. 



Cult. 



Meriani 



shrub, worthy of cultivation. 



An elegant 



10-12, Anthers obtuse 



apex 



opening by 2 pores, and ending in a simple spur at the base. 



Capsule free, 5.6-celIed. 

 Peru. 



Frondose trees or shrubs, natives of 



Leaves ovate -lanceolate, or broadly cordate, coriaceous, 

 Jentate, or crenated, 5-nerved, reticulately veined, petiolate, 

 wrinkled or flat above, clothed with short brown tomentum 

 beneath. Flowers terminal, corymbose, or sub-racemose, large, 

 purple, or white. 



1 A. purpu'rea (Ruiz et Pav. syst. 1. p. 122.) leaves cordate, 

 7-nerved, crenated, reticulately veined, wrinkled above and 

 scabrous, but lacunose and clothed with brown tomentum be- 



IV. LAVOISIFRA (this genus is dedicated by De Candolle 

 to the celebrated but unfortunate Lavoisier, whose name de- 

 serves this mark of respect). D. C. prod. 3. p. 102. 



Lin. syst. Deca-Icosdndria, Monogijnia, Tube of calyx 

 turbinately oblong; lobes 5-10. Petals 5-10, oval, or 

 obovate. Stamens 10-20. Anthers ovate, terminating in 

 short blunt beak at the apex, and bursting by a single pore, 

 dissimilar from the connectives being alternately long and 

 drawn out into a long, somewhat 2-lobed appendage at the arti- 

 culation, and the others being short and hardly produced. 

 Ovarium not beset with bristles at the apex. Capsule 5-10- 



celled. 



h. S. 



Native of 

 Flowers 



Seeds angular. — Brazilian shrubs, nearly all glabrous. 

 Leaves sessile, flat, or keeled, quite entire, or ciliated by a few 

 stiff hairs, 1 -nerved or many-nerved at the base : the narrower 

 ones nerveless. Flowers terminal, solitary, sessile. This is a 



Heath; peduncles 1 -flowered, corymbose. 



"eru, in groves. Ruiz et Pav. fl. per. 5. t. 510 



purple. 



^Mrp/e-flowered Axinaea. Shrub 6to 10 feet. 



2 A. murica'ta (D.Don, in wern. soc. mem. 4. p. 321.) leaves 



'^'"ge, elliptic, crenated, 3-nerved, shortly acuminated, rather cor- 

 date at the base, naked above, but granular beneath as well as the 

 Jranchlets; calyxes murlcated. b- S. Native of Peru. 

 J^aves a foot long and 5 inches broad. Panicle terminal, many- 

 lowered. 



^uricated'calyxed Axinaea, Shrub 5 to 8 feet. 



2 A. LANCEOLA^TA (Ruiz ct Pav. 1. c. p. 122.) leaves elliptic, 



acuminated, toothed, 5-nerved, flat above, clothed with fuscous ^ , - . . 



i^^entum beneath* racemes panicled and terminal. I? . S. calyx ovate, shorter than the lobes, which are 6 lanceolate, and 

 Native of Peru, in ;oods at Miina and Pinao. RuizetPav.fl. ciliately serrated ; anthers ^'^^>'"''«;- , ^ 



per. 5. t 509 ' ^il, on Serro Frio, m marshes, at the height of 4000 teet. 



' ' ' Rhexia cataphrdcta, Schrank, et Mart. mss. Allied to Z. 



imbricata, but the leaves spread more, and the branches are 

 less squarrose ; more nearly allied to L. insignis, but the leaves 

 are shorter and more crowded, and the ciliae of the calyx are 

 not glandular. Perhaps referrible to Aximje'a. 

 Cuirass Lavoisiera. Shrub 1 to 2 feet. 

 2 L. imbricVta (D. C. 1. c. p. 103.) shrubby, quite glabrous } 

 t.^o«^T.oa .rtrwi^wlint rpfraffonftl t Icavcs imbricated, m 4 rows. 



very shewy genus of plants. 



§ 1. Diosmoidece (from Diosma, an idea, similar; plants with 

 the habit of Diosma). D. C. prod. 3. p. 102. Leaves ciliated 



with stiff bristles. 



1 L. cataphea'cta (D. C. 1. c) shrubby, dichotomous, or 



trichotomous ; branches somewhat tetragonal, loricated ; leaves 

 sessile, half stem-clasping, keeled, having tl e middle nerve and 

 nerve-formed margins serrated from stiff" bristles, the rest quite 

 glabrous and stiff; flowers terminal, sessile, solitary; tube of 



— w V . ■ 



lanceolate-leaved Axinaea. Shrub 6 to 10 feet. 



* A. GLANDULosA (Ruiz et Pav. fl. per. 5. t. 512.) leaves 

 ovate, 5-nerved, denticulated, clothed with yellowish tomentum 

 •^neath, but flat and glabrous above and biglandular at the base ; 

 panicle terminal, manv-flowered. h . S. Nati^ 



fc, cle terminal, many-flowered. 

 ^""^ frondose. Flowers white. 

 Glandular Ax 



Native of Peru. 



xmsea. 



Shrub 6 to 1 feet. 



^ A. depe'ndens (Ruiz et Pav. fl. per. 5. t. 511.) leaves 



