TILIACEJi. 95 



teral, with the stigma usually peaicellate. Pericarp bivalred, monosperm. Embryo straight, 

 enclosed by endosperm : cotyledons foliaceous. — Shrubs or herbs ; flowers glomerate: clus- 

 ters mostly axillary, peduncled or sessile. 



16. "W. americana, L. Velvety -tomentose (rarely glabrescent) ; leaves ovate, oblong 

 or lanceolate-oblong, plicate, crenate or toothed; clusters usually peduncled; calyx and 

 ovary lanuginose ; column entire, half the length of the spathulate petals. — Cav. Diss. 1. 1 70, 

 171. — W. indica, L.: the form with sessile flower-clusters. W. arborescens, ovata, elliptica, 

 microphylla, Cav. W. angustifolia, Kth. — A suffrutescent or shrubby plant, 4'-6' high, 

 polymorphous in the sbape of the leaves, the size of the flower-clusters, and their arrange- 

 ment ; clusters compound ; calyx nearly equalling the involucel : lobes subulate : petals yel- 

 low. — Hab. Jamaica!, Dist., AL, Wils., March, common in pastures and thickets; Baha- 

 mas!, S. Vincent!, Guild.; Trinidad!, Lockh., Cr.; [all tropical countries of the globe, and 

 beyond their northern limits, viz. Cuba ! and Mexico ! to Brazil !, Canary Islands! to tropical 

 Africa !, Madagascar ! to East Indies ! and China !, northern Australia !, New Caledonia !, 

 Sandwich Islands !]. 



W. glabra, Poir., is hitherto confined to Guadeloupe ! , distinguished by general glabrous- 

 ness, and by the column divided almost to the middle into distinct filaments : its synonyms 

 are Biedleia Berteriana, DC. (Deless. Ic. 3. t. 23), and Walth. Icevis, Schrk. (H. Monac. 

 t. 55), a form with ciliate calyx-lobes. 



Of the tribe of Dombeyacea, Pentalqpes phosnicea, L., an East Indian annual, has beeu 

 introduced into Jamaica !, March. " A 



XXIX. TILIACE.E. 



Calyx valvate, usually deciduous. Stamens hypogynous, mostly distinct and indefinite .- 

 anthers bilocular. Pistil synearpous : carpids definite: seeds albuminous. — Leaves stipulate. 



In their properties they accord with Malvacea, being as well mucilaginous as fibrous 

 plants : thus Triumfetta semitriloba and Corchorus yield good fibres in Jamaica. Corchorus 

 olitorius is a pot-herb, affording a substitute for Spinach. The seeds of the same plant and 

 the bark of Muntingia {Guasem) are drastic drugs. Among the timber-trees, Sloanea jamai- 

 censis (Iron-wood, or Break-axe-wood) is remarkable for its toughness. S. Massoni is also 

 used. 



Tribe I. GllEWIEM. — Sepals distinct. Anthers ovoid or roundish, dehiscent 

 by longitudinal fissures : connective not produced. 



1. TRIUMFETTA, Z. 



Sepals 5, usually apiculate below the top. Petals 5 (-0), opposite to as many hyposte- 

 monal glands. Stamens (5-)10-30, surrounded at the base by a short cupule. Ovary 2-5- 

 celled : cells biovulate and partitioned by a spurious dissepiment : style simple, with the 

 stigma-divisions minute or obsolete. Achenium glochidiate ; embryo straight . cotydelons 

 foliaceous. — Suffrutescent herbs or shrubs ; pedunclea opposite to the leaf, or superior race- 

 mose : pedicels fascicled, at length cernuous ; flowers yellow, tcith the calyx coloured. 



The descriptions in this genus, as given by older authors, are incomplete ; the species how- 

 ever are numerous, though nearly related, and most variable in the sbape of the leaf. 



1. T. Iiappula, L. Suffrutescent, velvety with stellate down; leaves roundish or 

 lobed, unequally toothed: lowest teeth heteromorphous, transformed into blunt glands; 

 flowers racemose : pedicels equalling the fruit ; sepals hairy, apiculate ; petals ; stamens 

 10 ; stigma bifid ; achenium globose, bilocular, glabrous : glochides hairy, equalling its dia- 

 meter.—Plum. t. 255; Desc. Fl. 2. t. 101. — Stem 2'-5' high; calyx \\ w long, yellowish; 

 achenium (without the glochides) 2'" diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, Macf., a common weed ; S. 

 Vincent!, Guild.; [Guadeloupe 1, Martinique ; Mexico!, Panama!; Cape Verde Islands!]. 



2. T. macrophylla, Vahl. Suffrutescent, velvety with stellate down ; leaves ovate- 

 roundish, pointleted, uuequally toothed: lowest tgeth heteromorphous, transformed into 

 blunt glands ; flowers shortly racemose : pedicels exceeded in length by the calyx ; sepals pu- 

 bescent, apiculate ; petals oblong; stamens 15; stigma 4-fid; ovary 4,-locu/ar ; achenium 

 . . . — Leaves 5"-3" diam. ; calyx 3'" long, equalling the petals. — Hab. Trinidad I, Cr. ; 

 [Guiana]. 



