20 BIXINE.E. 



Berry globose. —Shrubs ; leaves entire ; peduncles one-flowered, axillary, cernuous, and 

 together with the calyx covered with orange-coloured tubercles. 



22. S. elliptica, Spr. Leaves cuneate-oblong or elliptical, mucronate, pubescent be- 

 neath, longer than the petiole. — Stephania, DC. — A shrub, 6' high; leaves about 3" loug, 

 shining above ; calyx campanulate, bifid by rupture, 6"' long : the posterior lobe broader, 

 ovate, blunt ; petals spathulate, 8'" long, exceeded by the stamens. — Hab. Trinidad 1, Schach, 

 Cr. ; [Cumana!]. 



XIV. BIXINE^]. 



[Flacourtianesc. Samydese.] 



Stamens inserted on a hypogynous or perigynous disc. Pistil paracarpous. Embryo in- 

 cluded in the axis of the fleshy endosperm : cotyledons foliaceous. — Woody plants ; leaves 

 not divided ; stigmas deciduous. 



The Bixinece have in most cases dotted leaves, and possess accordingly aromatic proper- 

 ties, of which no particular use is made. From the testa of the Amotta-tree (Roucou of 

 the French) the celebrated red dye of that name is extracted : it is a resinous substance 

 with stomachic properties. 



Tribe I. BIXEJE. — Capside dry : valves bearing the placentas on their middle line. 

 Stamens hypogynous, indefinite. 



1. BIX A, L. 



Sepals 5, distinct, imbricate, deciduous, alternating with exterior glands. Petals 5. 

 Anthers reflexed : the descendent part adherent to the ascending : cells dehiscent vertically 

 at the bend by an abbreviate fissure. Ovary unilocular, with two placentas : style simple ; 

 stigma bilobed. Capsule bivalved : seeds indefinite, turbinate. — Trees ; leaves entire, long- 

 petioled, dotted ; flowers large, rosy (or white), arranged in a terminal corymb. 



1. B. Orellana, L. Leaves glabrous, cordate or ovate, pointed. — SI. t. 181. /. 1 ; 

 Tuss. Fl. 2. t. 20; Desc. Fl. 1. t. 4.— B. platycarpa, B. P., Clos : a form with the capsule 

 less cordate. — A low tree, 10-12' high. — Hab. Jamaica, S. Lucia !, on the banks of rivers ; 

 [the whole of tropical America ; naturalized in the Ea»t Indies and Africa]. 



• Tbibe II. FLACOURTrANEM— -Pericarp fleshy. Stamens inserted upon a free disc. 



2. LjETIA, L. 



Sepals 4-5, distinct, imbricate, biserial, all or partly corolline, at length deciduous. Pe- 

 tals (-5). Stamens indefinite : anthers erect, roundish. Ovary unilocular, with 3-5 

 placentas : style simple ; stigma capitate. Pericarp drupaceous, dehiscent : seeds indefinite, 

 arillate. — Trees or shrubs ; leaves dotted; flowers arranged in axillary corymbs. 



2. I*. Thamnia, Sw. Leaves elliptical or elliptical-lanceolate, blunt, crenulate or sub- 

 entire, petioled, glabrous ; corymbs peduncled ; sepals 4, all corolline, 2 interior ciliate ; pe- 

 tals none ; fruit velutine, globose; placentas 4-6. — Br. Jam. t. 25./. 2. A shrub or low 



tree, very fragrant ; leaves 3" long, subcoriaceous, dotted with pellucid lines and points; 

 corymbs 3-9-flowered, exceeded by the leaves ; sepals 2'" long, rosy-white (the interior ra- 

 ther paler), roundish, somewhat puberulous ; pericarp in the younger state with a thick, 

 woody layer, which narrows the cell, but at length dehiscent.— Hab. Jamaica !, Macf., Pd., 

 Alex., March, Wils., common in the southern districts on limestone ; [Haiti !]. 



3. LUNANIA, Hook: 

 Sepals 2, distinct, valvar, marcescent. Petals 0. Stamens 6, inserted upon a cup-like 

 disc, alternating with its simple teeth : anthers erect, oblong, introrse. Ovary unilocular, 

 with 3 placentas : style shortly trifid. Pericarp ... .—A tree ; leaves obsoletely dotted, 

 ovate, pomtleted, entire, glabrous, palmatinerved : 3 ribs stronger, and separating usually 

 a little above the base ; racemes elongated, drooping, lateral or axillary, fascicled at the 

 end of the branches: pedicels short, scattered, articulated at the base /sepals roundish, 

 concave, membranaceous. 



3. Ii. racemosa, Hook.— Hook, in Lond. Journ. of Bot. 3. p. 317. t. 11, 12.— A fo- 



