132 ASCLEPIADEA. XXVIII. Marspenia. 
yellow. Leaves 4-6 inches long and 3-4 broad.  Follicles 
ovate-lanceolate, downy, green, 6 inches long, and 4-5 in cir- 
cumference.— The bark of the young luxuriant shoots yields a 
large portion of beautiful fine silky fibre, with which the 
mountaineers of Rajemahl make their bow-strings, on account 
of their great strength and durability. Their fibres, and those 
of the bark of a Malay plant (Batha-calay, or poolas, the 
Urtica tenacissima, Roxb.) are much stronger in the fibre 
than hemp, and even exceeding those of Sansevéria Zeylánica, 
Roxb. A line made of common hemp for a standard, broke 
with 150 Ibs. when dry, and 190 lbs. when wet, the average of 
several trials. A similar line, of this substance, broke with 
248 Ibs. when dry, and 343 when wet, while that of Urtica 
tenacissima broke with 240 when dry, and 278 when wet. 
Very tough Marsdenia. Clt. 1806. Shrub tw. 
Sect. II. Nepura’npra (from vepoc, nephos, a kidney, and 
arp arópoc, aner andros, a male; shape of anthers). Stigma 
beaked.  Anthers kidney-shaped. 
15 M. znE'crA (R. Br. l. c. p. 31.) stem erect; leaves cor- 
date, ovate, acute; cymes umbel-formed ; segments of the 
limb of the corolla beardless, 4-5 times longer than the tube. 
h. G. Native of Syria. Cynanchum eréctum, Lin. hort. 
cliff. 79. Willd. spec. 1. p. 1158. Jacq. hort. t. 38. Per- 
gulària erécta, Spreng. syst. 1. p. 844.—Kniph. cent. 7. no. 19. 
Apócynum, Clus. 1. p. 124. Leaves pale green, glaucescent. 
Flowers numerous, white, sweet-scented, ex Jacq. 
Erect Marsdenia. Fl. Jul. Aug. Clt. 1597. Sh. 3 to 6 ft. 
16 M. rosrra‘ta (R. Br. l. c.) stem twining; leaves ovate, 
subcordate, acuminated, glabrous; umbels many-flowered ; 
limb of corolla bearded. h. ^. G. Native of New Holland, 
without the tropic. Pergularia rostrata, Spreng. syst. 1. p. 844. 
This species differs from all the preceding in the pollen masses 
being reniform, nearly transverse, fixed by the extremity, more 
remote from the corpuscles of the stigma. 
Beaked Marsdenia. Shrub tw. 
Cult. For culture and propagation see Pergularia, p. 132. 
XXIX. COSMOSTI'GMA (from koopoc, kosmos, decked ; 
and orvypa, a stigma; in reference to the stigma being adorned 
by a narrow wing). Wight, contrib. ind. bot. p. 41. 
Lin. syst. Penidndria, Digynia. Corolla rotate. Sta- 
mineous corona 5-leaved; leaflets compressed, bifid. Anthers 
ventricose, terminated by a membrane; pollen masses erect, 
fixed by the base to the corpuscles of the stigma, hanging by long 
retinacula. Stigma mutic, crowned by a repand, flexuous, nar- 
row wing. Follicles large, linear-oblong, obtuse, smooth. Seeds 
comose.—T wining shrubs. Leaves opposite, membranous. Co- 
rymbs usually twin, on long peduncles. Flowers small. "This 
genus has been separated from Marsdénia on account of the 
very beautiful and peculiar stigma; the cleft leaflets of the co- 
rona allies it to the last section of that genus. 
1 C. racemosa (Wight, l. c. p. 42.). 5.^. S. Native of 
Silhet and Chittagong. Asclépias racemósa, Roxb. fl. ind. 2. 
p. 32. mus. ind. or. t. 1818.  Nérium piscidium, Wall. cat. no. 
59. but not of Roxb. 
Racemose-flowered Comostigma. Shrub'tw. 
Cult. See Pergulàária, p. 133, for culture and propagation. 
XXX. HETEROSTE'MMA (from £repoc, heteros, variable, 
and ereupa, stemma, a crown; the corona in each of the species 
has a form peculiar to itself). Wight and Arnott, contrib. ind. 
bot. p. 42. 
Lin. syst. 
Pentándria, Digynia. Corolla rotate, 5-parted. 
XXIX. CosuosricMA. 
XXX. Hererostremma. XXXI. PERGULARIA. 
Stamineous corona 5-leaved ; leaflets dilated, furnished each with 
a process inside. Anthers lying upon the stigma, terminated by 
a membrane; pollen masses erect, obsoletely tetragonal, pellucid 
on one side.  Follicles smooth. Seeds comose.—T'wining 
shrubs. Leaves opposite, furnished above the base with a small 
gland. Umbels small, interpetiolar, on short peduncles. The 
corona being variable in the species of this genus, the principal 
distinction rests in the form and structure of the pollen masses, 
which resemble those of Stapélia, and the allied genera. 
1 H. Tansore’nsis (Wight and Arnott, l. c.) twining, gla- 
brous; leaves broadly ovate or oblong, short-acuminated, ob- 
tuse or cordate at the base; peduncles shorter than the leaves, 
few-flowered ; leaflets of corona spreading, broad, truncate, 
furnished with a tongue-formed process inside ; follicles diva- 
ricate, slender, glabrous, hooked at the apex. h. QUSE NA 
tive of the East Indies, in the province of Tanjore, in sand. 
Stapélia involucràta, herb. madr. Leaves 2-4 inches long, and 
1-2 broad. 
Tanjore Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 
e H. Warrícuu (Wight, l. e.) twining; branches having a 
downy, lateral line on both sides; leaves ovate, acuminated, 
glabrous; peduncles very short, few-flowered; leaflets of 
corona much dilated, obcordate, furnished with an erect, fleshy 
process inside, lying upon the gynostegium. h.™.S. Na- 
tive of Nipaul, on Sheopore. Wall. ascl. no. 154, without a 
name. Leaves 4-8 inches long, and 2-3 broad. 
Wallich’s Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 
3 H. Ara mA (Wight, l. c.) twining ; branches having a downy 
line on both sides; leaves ovate, acuminated, glabrous ; umbels 
few-flowered, almost sessile ; leaflets of corona cuspidate, fur- 
nished with a subulate tooth on the back, and a gland-formed 
process inside ; follicles slender, glabrous, divaricate. h. ^*. S. 
Native of Nipaul, and Massooree. Hoya alata, Wall. asclep. 
no. 136. Leaves 2-5 inches long, and 1-3 broad. 
Winged Heterostemma. Shrub tw. 
Cult. For culture and propagation see Pergularia, p. 133. 
XXXI. PERGULA'RIA (from pergula, an arbour ; twining 
plants, fit for covering arbours). R. Br. in mem. wern. soc. 1. 
p.31. Blum. bijdr. p. 1055.  Pergulària species, Lin. 
Lin. syst. — Pentándria, Monogynia. Corolla salver-shaped, 
with an urceolate tube. Stamineous corona 5-leaved ; leaflets 
compressed, undivided at top, and furnished each with a little 
segment inside. Anthers terminated by a membrane; pollen 
masses erect, fixed by the base. Stigma mutic. Follicles ven- 
tricose, smooth Seeds comose.—T wining plants, with broad 
membranous leaves; interpetiolar cymes, of yellowish, sweet- 
scented flowers, for which they are cultivated in China and the 
East Indies. Throat of corolla usually hairy. 
1 P. oporatissiwa (Roxb. and Smith, icon. pict. p. 16.) 
leaves cordate, acuminated, soft, downy; umbels shorter than 
the leaves; calycine segments shorter than the tube of the 
corolla, which is woolly inside; corona shorter than the tube 
of the corolla; segments of corolla short, obtuse. h. ©. S. 
Native of China, Cochinchina, and Sumatra, where it is called 
West coast creeper by the English. Andr. bot. rep. t. 185. 
Pergulària minor, Sims, bot. mag. 755. Perg. tomentósa, Lin. 
mant. 53. Cynanchum odoratíssimum, Tour. coch. p. 164. 
Flos Siámicus, Rumph. amb. 6. p. 58. t. 26. f. 1. The Malay 
name of the shrub is Tonki or Tonkin. Bark corky ; young 
branches downy. Leaves rather downy while young, 4 inches 
long and 3 broad. Flowers middle-sized, greenish yellow, ex- 
ceedingly fragrant. Seeds surrounded by a membranous rind, 
and ending in a long tuft of hairs. 
Sweet-scented Pergularia. FI. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1784. Sh. tw. 
2 P. AccE'pzss (Blum. bijdr. p. 1056.) leaves ovate, or oval- 
