

LORANTHACE^. 313 



Sect. 4. Oryctanthus. — Flowers small, spicate, sunk in excavations of the rhachis : 

 bractlets minute, 3, entire, concealed in their bottom or abortive. Petals and stamens 

 of Dendropemon. 



10. Ii. occidentalis, L. {ex SI.), Sw. (non Laefl.). Branchlets cylindrical, furfura- 

 ceous ; leaves ovate, blunt, with the principal veins separating from the midrib near its 

 base : petiole short, complicate ; spikes axillary, tetrastichous, often geminate-ternate, shortly 

 peduncled, usually thrice shorter than the leaves : flowers approximate : bractlets 3, round- 

 ish, persistent ; corolla purple, shortly oblong and blunt in the bud : petals 6, lanceolate 

 (f" long) ; fertile anthers roundish, mucronate ; berry ovoid-oblong.— SI. t. 200. /. 2. — L. 

 numerous, Benth. L. spicatus, Hb. Bks. : but ,L. spicatus, Jacq., is a distinct species, 

 which approaches (or is identical with) L. alveolatus, Kth. (Spruce, Lor. 13). — Leaves 3"-l" 

 long ; llowers half-exserted : bractlets wholly concealed ; style cylindrical ; berry 2'" long. 

 —Hab. Jamaica!, Macf, Dist., AL, Wullschl. ; [New Granada !, Guiana!]. 



2. PHORADENDRON, Nutt. 



Flowers dioecious, apetalous. Calyx-limb 3 (rarely 2-4)-lobed. Anthers sessile, trans- 

 versely 2-locular : each cell opening with a pore or slit. Stigma sessile, blunt. Berry 

 closed at the top by the connivent calyx-limb. — Stem jointed at the nodes ; leaves opposite ; 

 spikes axillary, jointed : flowers sunk in excavations of the rhachis : rhachis-pieces sup- 

 ported by a truncate-bifid involucel. 



Though all the numerous specimens in our collection prove female, from the following ar- 

 guments I confidently refer the leafy West Indian Visca (as well as most species of tropical 

 America) to Phoradendron. 



1. In Ph. rubrum and Berterianum, 3 distinct or sessile anthers have been observed by 

 Macfadyen. 



2. In all specimens the calyx-limb is 3-lobed : the 4 lobes, figured in his Viscum rubrum 

 by Catesby, and "rarely" seen in his V.flavens by Macfadyen, are to be regarded as mon- 

 strosities. 



3. In the peculiar structure of the rhachis, their bifid involucels, and the jointed stem, 

 their analogy with the North American species is perfect. 



The term calyx in Phoradendron alludes to its green colour and its being persistent on 

 the fruit. But the usual discrimination of the outer flower-whorls according to their posi- 

 tion is not applicable to Loranthacece ; for here there are homologous organs, the petals of 

 Loranthus (corresponding to those of Olacinece), the calyx-divisions of Phoradendron, and 

 the naked stamens of Viscum (usually called sepals with adnate stamens). 



* Leaves.broad and large, 2"-6" long. 



11. Ph. flavens, Gr. Branchlets subcompressed, at length cylindrical ; leaves ovate, 

 with a bluntish point : primary veins 4 (2-6), united near or at the base of the midrib, 

 prominulous ; spikes 1-3 in the axil, usually nearly half as long as the leaves : joints several, 

 distant : furrows hexastichous ; berry ovoid-globose. — Viscum, Sw. {exclus. syn. Plum.). 

 V. macrophyllum, Macf. 1 {non Spreng.). Ph. chrysocladon, As. Gr. : the form with 8-5- 

 plinerved leaves, passing in Jamaica into 5-uerved oues. — Branches golden-yellow (while in 

 the following species they are brownish) ; leaves 4"-2i" long, 2"-l" broad, tinged with 

 yellowish, which colour is preserved in drying. — Hab. Jamaica !, Macf, Pd.;^ Dominical, 

 Imr., S. Vincent !, Guild. ; [Mexico ! to Brazil], 



12. Ph. hexastichum, Or. Branchlets compressed-tetragonal, at length subcylin- 

 drical ; leaves ovate or elliptical, obtusate, contracted at the base : primary veins inserted 

 along the midrib ; spikes 1-3 in the axils, 4 times or more exceeded by the leaf : joints 

 several, distant : furrows hexastichous ; berry globose. — Plum. Ed. Burm. t. 258./. 4. — 

 Viscum, DC. — Leaves 5"-3" long, 2"-l" broad, black in drying. — Hab. S. Vincent !, Guild. ; 

 [Cuba!, Mexico !]. 



13. Ph. Berterianum, Gr. Branchlets compressed, at length cylindrical ; leaves 

 oblique, semiovate-oblong or lanceolate-oblong, blunt, tapering into the petiole i primary 

 veins insetted along the midrib, distant, delicate ; spikes subsolitary in the axils, 2-4 times 

 exceeded by the leaf: joints 5-4: furrows tetrastichous; berry globose — Viscum, DC. 



