BIXINE^. 21 



rest tree, about 25' high ; leaves 3"-5" long, petioled : stipules not observed ; racemes fili- 

 form, 12" long and more, sometimes branched; sepals 14'" long, equalling the stamens. — 

 Hab. Jamaica !, Pd., Wils., in woods of the northern districts of S. Mary ; [Cuba!, Lin- 

 den, 2130]. 



4. XYLOSMA, Forst. (1786.) 



(Hisingera, Hell, 1792. Roumea, PoiL, 1815. Flacourtise sp. Americ. ap. Kth, 



Benth., etc.) 



Flowers usually deciduous. Sepals 4-5, distinct or coherent at the base, imbricate, mar- 

 cescent. Petals 0. Stamens indefinite : anthers roundish, didymous, affixed to the filament 

 above the base. Ovary unilocular, with 2-6 placentas : ovules definite, 2-4 on each ; styles 

 short, distinct, or combined at the base : stigma thickened, subemarginate. Berry inde- 

 hiscent, few-seeded. — Shrubs or trees, usually with axillary spines ; leaves obsoletely dotted, 

 leathery, serrate: serratures often glandular, and stipules early disappearing ; flowers 

 small, axillary, arranged in fascicles or short racemes. 



4. X. nitidum, As. Gr. in lit. Leaves ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 

 glabrous, subcoriaceous : serratures blunt, glandular ; flowers dioecious, fascicled : fascicles 

 shorter than the petioles or equalling them ; calyx 4-5-partite, about half the length of the 

 stamens: segments ciliate ; styles 2-4 (- 6) ; placentas 2(-4)-ovuled; berry globose-ovoid. — 

 Hellen. in Act. Holm. 1792, i. 3 ; Poit. in Mem. Mus. 1. t. 4.— Hisingera, Hell. Roumea 

 conacea, Poit. Flacourtia celastrina et flexuosa, Kth. H. nitida et puberula, Schlechl. H. 

 elegans, Clos. Prockia obovata, Prl. {ex specim. Mexic). H. Roumea, Clos. — A shrub, 

 spiny or unarmed, very variable in the size and form of the leaves, the spines compound or 

 simple, the down of the calyx, the length of the stamens, and the number of the carpels. 

 Leaves l"-4" long, usually acuminate. — It might be doubted whether, among the above 

 synonyms, Roumea coriacea, Poit. (H. Roumea, CI.), is correctly placed here, as Poiteau 

 figures a plant with 5 styles, and Kunth describes it with 5 or 6 styles, and as the former 

 found 10, the latter 20 ovules, though both of them doubtfully, while among the many 

 specimens compared by myself the number of styles and consequently of the placentas did 

 not exceed 4, the same varying between 2 and 4, and the placentas being usually 2-ovuled : 

 but as there is no other specific character, the greater number of ovules seems only the 

 consequence of the higher number of carpels, the placentas bearing in the same species 2 to 

 4 ovules, and thus Kunth's highest number being in correspondence with 5 or 6 carpels. — 

 Hab. Jamaica!, Pd., Alex., Trinidad!, Pd., Cr., on mountains; [Haiti; Mexico! on both 

 coasts, Guatemala!, Veraguas!, Venezuela!, Rio Negro!, Spruce, 1533, Bahia!]. 



Tbibe III. PROCKIEJZ. — Pericarp fleshy, not dehiscent. Stamens inserted upon a 



perigynous disc. 



5. TRILIX, L. 

 (Prockia, P. Br. Banara, Audi.) 

 Calyx 3-4-partite : segments valvate. Petals 3-4 (or abortive). Stamens indefinite : an- 

 thers roundish, erect. Ovary incompletely or completely divided by the protruding 3-8 

 parietal placentas : style simple, with the stigma obsoletely lobed. Pericarp baccate : seeds 

 indefinite, longitudinally striated. — Shrubs or trees ; leaves serrate, stipulate ; corymbs or 

 panicles terminal. 



Sect. 1. Prockia. — Ovary S-5-locular, by the placentas contiguous in the axis. 

 Stipules foliaceous, deciduous. Leaves not dotted. 



5. T. cruris, Gr. {PI. Carib. p. 17). Leaves ovate or cordate, acuminate, serrate with 

 the point entire, membranaceous : petiole thin ; corymbs few-flowered ; segments of calyx 

 3-4, ovate, downy internally : petals lanceolate, downy (occasionally all, or some, abortive). 

 Vahl, Symb. t. 64 ; Hook. Ic. t. 94. — Prockia, L. P. completa, Hook. Ascra brasiliensis, 

 Schtt.inHb. Hook. — A middle-sized tree, 20'-25' high; leaves glabrous (or sometimes 

 downy), 3"-5" long ; petals yellowish, odorous ; berry size of a pea. Bennett {PI. Javan. 

 *•£■ 191) has well remarked that the species is " very variable as regards the shape and ser- 

 ration of the leaves, the length of the petioles, the size of the stipules :" so it is also in the 



