94 BUETTNERIACE.E. 



late, acuminate ; petals exserted ; column cohering at the top, split in the middle, exceeded 

 by the styles ; styles united below; capsule villous, globose, septicidal and loculicidal. — SI. 

 t. 138./. 1; Vent. Choix. t. 37. — Riedleia, Vent. Meloch. hirsuta, Rich. Cub. (non Cav.). 

 — A shrub, about 2' high, variable in the density of the long, soft hairs ; leaves l"-li" long, 

 often subcordate at the base ; petals purple, with yellow claws, spathulate, 5"'-6'" long, a 

 little exceeding the involucel ; capsule included within the calyx : valves li'" long. — Hab. 

 Jamaica !, Mac/., Al., March, in pastures of the northern and central districts, S. Ann's, S. 

 Thomas in the Vale ; Trinidad !, Lockh.; [Cuba ! and Mexico ! to Brazil ! and Peru !]. 



12. M. hirsuta, Cav. Shrubby, villous-lanitginose ; leaves ovate-oblong, bluntish, 

 appressed, duplicate-serrate, velvety and villous ; flower-clusters in a terminal, oblong, com- 

 pact spike, inferior distant ; calyx half the length of the linear involucel leaves : lobes ovate, 

 pointed; petals exserted ; column %-fid, exceeding the styles; styles united below; capsule 

 . . . . — Cav. Diss. t. 174./. 1 : male. — M. vestita, Benth.: a very villous form. — A virgate 

 shrub, densely covered with soft hairs ; leaves 1£" long, usually subcordate at the base ; 

 flowers larger than in the preceding, the petals in the same proportion to the involucel. — 

 Hab. S. Lucia!, Anders.; Trinidad!, Cr.; [Haiti!, Panama!, Guiana!, Bahia!]. 



Sect. 3. Mougeotia. — Capsule pentacoccous. Column h-fid, or nearly entire 

 to the anthers. 



13. M. nodiilora, Sic.! Shrubby, glabrate; leaves ovate, pointed, serrate; flowers 

 glomerate : clusters axillary, much exceeded by the petiole ; calyx a little exceeded by the 

 corolla : lobes deltoid, pointed ; column entire .- anthers sessile ; styles distinct ; capsule sub- 

 globose, 5 -angular, hairy, a little exceeding the calyx: carpids at length distinct, tardily de- 

 hiscent along the ventral line. — SI. t. 135./. 2. — Mougeotia, Kth. Riedleia, DC. — A shrub, 

 2'-6' high, puberulous in the younger parts j leaves 3"-2" long ; inferior petioles 1" long, 

 superior decrescent ; calyx 1£"' long ; petals spathulate, reddish-white, nearly equalling the 

 column and the styles ; capsule subdepressed, 2'" diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, Macf., M'Nab, 

 AL, Wils., March, common in fences; Antigua!, Nichols.; S.Vincent!, Guild.; [Cuba!, 

 Mexico !, Panama !]. 



14. M. lupulina, Sw. ! Shrubby ; leaves ovate, pointed, subcordate at the base, du- 

 plicate-serrate, glabrescent or subpubescent with a scattered down ; flowers fascicled : clus- 

 ters axillary, many-flowered : peduncle short, much exceeded by the petiole ; calyx nearly 

 equalling the corolla, at length inflated: lobes deltoid, pointed; column h-fd to the 

 middle; styles distinct; capsule subglobose, 5-angular, much smaller than the enlarged 

 calyx : carpids at leugth distinct, tardily dehiscent along the ventral line. — Kth. Nov. Gen. t. 

 484. — Mougeotia inflata, Kth. (Riedleia, Macf.! ; Melochia, Benth.). — A branched shrub, 

 3'-5' high, pubescent in the younger parts ; leaves 2vs"-4" long, about twice as long as the 

 pubescent petiole; calyx 1£"' long, and at length 4'" long and 3'" broad, broadly campanulatej 

 petals oval, white, with a yellow spot : limb twice the length of the claw ; capsule puberu- 

 lous, 1£"' diam. — Hab. Jamaica!, Macf, Wils., in moist thickets (resembling the bramble, 

 Wils.) ; [New Granada !, Ecuador !, Peru !]. 



15. VS.. venosa. Sw.! Shrubby; leaves ovate, pointed, serrate, pubescent beneath and 

 on the veins of the upper side; flowers fascicled : clusters arranged in a terminal, inter- 

 rupted raceme: peduncles short; calyx twice exceeded by the corolla-, lobes lanceolate, 

 pointed ; stamens monadelphons, somewhat cohering at the top ; styles distinct ; capsule 

 subglobose, villous : carpids at length distinct and dehiscent along the ventral line. — Riedleia, 

 DC. R. jamaicensis, DC. R. virgultosa, Macf. Melochia jamaicensis, Berter. M. de- 

 pressa, L.? {non Cab.). — In habit it resembles M. serrata, but is easily distinguished by the 

 pedicellate, yellow flowers. A shrub, 2'-3' high ; petals obovate, 4'" long j capsule 2'" diam. 

 — Hab. Jamaica !, Houston, March, in dry situations, in the district of S. Andrew's. 



M. odorata, L. fil. (Cav. Diss. t. 173./. 2), a high tree of the Pacific islands and the 

 East Indies has been introduced into Jamaica. 



6. WALTHERIA, L. 



Calyx 5-fid with a lateral involucel. Petals 5. Column adhering to the base of the 

 petal-claws, entire, or divided into 5 filaments. Carpel solitary : styles simple, slightly la- 



