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EUPHORBIACE.E. 43 



15. METTENIA, Gr. 



Flowers dioecious. Calyx : " $ 3-fid ;" $ 5-partite, imbricative. Petals 0. " Stamens 

 biseriate, monadelphous, 4 exterior inferior, 3 interior : anthers didymous." Ovary hispid, 

 3-celled, surrounded by a laciniate disc ; styles 3, bipartite, spreading, papillose to the base. 

 Capsule echiiiate, globose, 3-coccous. Seeds caruneulate, globose-compressed: raphe at 

 length none. — A tree or shrub ; leaves leathery, quite entire, exstipulate ; racemes terminal, 

 pubescent : flowers fasciculate. 



61. M. globosa, Gr.— Croton, Sw. Riciuus, W— 30' (Pd.), or 4'-5' high (Sw.)-. 

 branchlets pubescent with simple hairs ; leaves ovate, blunt, or bluntish, 2"-l" long, gla- 

 brescent, shining above : petiole thickish, l'"-2'" long ; ? racemes shortly peduncled, 1" 

 long •. pedicels 5-2 together, 1'" long ; calyx 1'" long, much imbricated : segments ovate, 

 blunt, as long as the pistil; capsule 4'" diam., covered with bluntly pyramidal, scabrous 

 prickles; seeds 2"' diam., even, brown (the exterior whitish membranaceous integument 

 being destroyed spontaneously, together with the raphe) : caruncle large, convex, entire. — 

 Hab. Jamaica !, Mac/., Pd., rare in the high mountains, e.g. Moorce's Gap. « 



16. MABEA, Aubl. 



Flowers monoecious. Calyx 5-6-lobed. Petals 0. Stamens oo, distinct, inserted npon a 

 convex disc : anthers adnate, extrorse, mucronulate. Style 3-fid : branches simple, revolute, 

 filiform. Capsule 3-coccous. Seeds ovoid. — Trailing shrubs ; leaves undivided, stipulate ; 

 flowers in racemiform panicles, inferior $ . 



62. M. Taquari, Aubl. Branchlets pubescent ; leaves oblong, pointleted, rounded at 

 the base, serrulate or subeutire, glabrous above, hoary and puberulous or glabrate beneath ; 

 <? flowers long- pedicellate, tenia te: fascicles peduncled ; seeds . . . — Aubl. t. 334. — Hab. 

 Trinidad !, Cr., in the savannah of Aripe ; [Guiana, equatorial Brazil] . 



63. M. occidentals, Benth. Glabrous; leaves oblong, serrulate or subentire; $ 

 flowers long-pedicellate, ternate : fascicles sessile; seeds ovoid-oblong, ecarunculate. — Seeds 

 3"'-4"' long, 2"'-3'" broad, shining-brown. In my Panama specimens of M. Piriri, Aubl., 

 the seeds a"re ovoid-globose, 2V" long and thick, and they have a distinct, discolor caruncle. 

 — Hab. Trinidad!, Cr. ; at S. Ann's; [Panama, Guiana, Bahda]. 



Subtribe 4. DITAXIDE2E. — Inflorescence centripetal, racemose-, bracts \-flowered: 

 flowers monozcious, $ inferior, or dioecious. Stamens inserted around the abortive pis- 

 til. Seeds globose, ecarunculate. 



17. CAPERONIA, St. Hil. 



Flowers monoecious (or dioecious). Calyx: $ 5 (-6) -partite, imbricative; ? 5-10-par- 

 tite, unequal. Petals a. Stamens 10-8, distinct, inserted into the gynophore of the abor- 

 tive pistil : discal glands 0. Styles cut into many branches. Capsule 3-coccous, echinate. 

 Seeds punctate, globose, ecarunculate. — Annual herbs : stem simple; leaves penninerved- 

 costate, sharply serrate : stipules persistent ; racemes axillary. 



64. C. castaneifolia, St. Hil. Stem hispid with glands ; leaves broadly lanceolate, or 

 lanceolate-linear, acuminate, 16-20-costate ; racemes androgynous, as long as, or half .as long 

 as the leaves: ? flowers 3-1: calyx ciliale with stipitate glands: ? 6(-10)-partite : 

 5 segments larger, equal ; capsule denselv glandular, and at length muricate. — Plum. Ed. 

 Burm. t. 239./. 1 ; Bot. Mag. t. 2794. — Croton, L., Kth. C. palustris, Geis. {exclus. a. 

 et synon.). Lepidococea Sieberi, Turcz.f: a form with the 5 smaller calyx-segments of $ 

 developed. — 1 '-2' high; leaves glabrate, either subsessile or with the petiole £"-1" long; 

 petals white. — Hab. Trinidad !, Schach, Cr., in swamps ; [Haiti ! to Brazil !, Panama ! to 

 Guayaquil!]. 



65. C. palustris, St. Hil. Glabrescent; leaves elliptical, ovate or oval-roundish, 

 pointed or blunt, 10-15-costate; racemes androgynous, 2-3 times exceeded by the leaf, ? 

 subsolitary ; calyx eglandular, ? 6-5-partite : 3 segments larger, equal ; capsule muricate 

 above. — Croton, Kth. : Linnams's synonym (Ic. Marl. Hist. t. 38) is not quite certain, the 

 stem in Martyu's native specimen being glandular, though glabrous in his cultivated one. 



