POLYGALE.E. 29 



flowers " violet ;" capsnle 6"' diam., membranaceous, flatly compressed ; seeds only 24'" 

 long. — Hab. Trinidad !, Lockh. ; [Mexico! to Venezuela!]. 



2. BADIERA, DC. 



Sepals 5, deciduous, the two lateral ones larger. Petals 5, the two lateral ones small and 

 adherent to the posterior ones: the anterior carinal (keel). Stamens coherent, 8 (-6) : an- 

 thers bilocular, dehiscent by an introrse, oval, partitioned foramen. Capsule compressed, 

 obcordate, bilocular (or one cell abortive), at length loculicid : seeds crowned by a large 

 caruncle, albuminous. — Woody plants ; leaves evergreen ; inflorescence axillary. 



The character formerly used to distinguish Badiera from Polygala (the larger develop- 

 ment of an oily caruncle), is one of degree only, but the peculiar structure of the anthers 

 (observed in two species) is remarkable. 



7- B. diversifolia, DC. Leaves ovate or oblong-lanceolate, glabrescent ; corymbs ex- 

 ceeding or equalling the petiole ; keel three times the length of the calyx, downy on the 

 sides ; filaments cohering nearly to the top. — P. Br. Jam. t. b.f. 3. 4. — Polygala, L., Sto. 

 — A leafy shrub, about 15' high ; leaves variable in form, l"-3" long, 8"'-15"' broad, infe- 

 rior 6"'-8'" long, blunt or tapering to a bluntish point ; corymbs shortly stipulate, proceed- 

 ing from all the upper axils; sepals ovate ; flowers white; keel 2'" long, subtruncate, a little 

 exceeding the posterior petals ; style bluntish : the under lip of the stigma minute, distant ; 

 capsule firm, marginate, 4'" long and broad ; caruncle operculiform, with its branches en- 

 closing the basilar part of the oval seed. — Hab. Jamaica!, Mac/., Pd., Alex., Wils., March, 

 on arid rocks, in the southern and central districts. 



3. CATOCOMA, Benth. 



Sepals 5, deciduous, the two lateral ones larger, coloured. Petals 5, two lateral reduced 

 to scales, the anterior carinal (keel). Stamens coherent, 8, adherent to the base of the 

 corolla : anthers unilocular, dehiscent by a terminal pore. Capsule compressed, bilocular, 

 loculicide. Seeds albuminous, crowned by a lanate caruncle : its wool containing the whole 

 seed. — Shrubs or vines ; leaves evergreen ; flowers panicled. 



8. C. lucida, Benth. ! Shrubby ; leaves elliptical-oblong or elliptical-lanceolate, shining 

 above, glabrescent beneath ; panicles terminal and axillary ; wings downy externally on the 

 median line; ovary glabrous: style inflexed; capsule cuneate-oblong. — A shrub, 12-15' 

 high : branchlets downy, glabrescent ; leaves 3" long, 2"-l" broad : panicles interrupted, 

 constituted of corymbiform racemes ; flowers white and yellow, 2'" long : wings obovate, 

 almost equalling the keel ; capsule variable in form, 4"'-9'" long, rounded-truncate or emar- 

 ginate at the top. The wool of the caruncle is similar to that of Gossypium. — Hab. Trini- 

 dad !, Lockh., Cr. ; [Guiana!, Para!]. 



4. SECURIDACA, L. 



Sepals 5, deciduous, the two lateral large, corolline. Petals 5, the two lateral reduced 

 to scales, the anterior (keel) carinal, bilobed, with an appendage that is folded together and 

 expanded backwards between its lobes. Stamens coherent, 8, adherent to the base of the 

 corolla : anthers bilocular, dehiscent by two introrse, oval foramens. Ovary unilocular by 

 abortion of the second, anterior carpel. Samara indehiscent : anterior margin of the wing 

 thickened, with a gibbosity (from the second carpel) at its base. Seed not caruncled, exal- 

 buminous. — Woody vines or shrubs ; leaves articulated at the base and furnished with 

 stiptulary glands ; racemes terminal and axillary. 



The synonymy of the West Indian species is obscure, as most authors have been in the 

 habit of referring different figures to the same species, and in some instances seem to 

 have completed their descriptions from erroneous quotations. I have four species, chiefly 

 distinguished by the fruit : but I was obliged to neglect some of the descriptions of former 

 authors, coufidiug only in their figures. 



9. S. erecta, L. {ex syn. Jacq.). Shrubby ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, ovate or oblong, 

 coriaceous, puberulous beneath ; racemes deuse, paniculate ; flowers red ; inferior sepals 

 ovate-oblong, bluntish ; wings orbicular, equalling the shortly bilobed keel : appendage of 

 the keel denticulate, equalling the lobes ; posterior petals spathulate, blunt ; samara tapering 



