ASCLEPIADE.E. 419 



ing from the concavity. Pollinaria obovate, compressed, tailed, hanging. Stigma de- 

 pressed. Follicles ovate or lanceolate : seeds comose. — Erect, perennial herbs ; umbels pe- 

 duncled, many-flowered, inserted between the superior leaves or terminal. 



11. A. curassavica, L. Stem puberulous ; leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate or lan- 

 ceolate, acuminate, petioled, glabrescent ; pedicels 5-12, 3-4 times as long as the crimson 

 flowers ; corolla-segments elliptical, pointed ; column abruptly stipitate ; ajjpendages of the 



ovate-oblong, oravge-coloured cucnlli lanceolate-falcate, shortly exserted ; follicles oblong- 

 lanceolate, smooth.— £/. t. 129./. 4, 5 ; Desc. Ft. 2. t. 116.— 1'-3' high ; corolla-segments 

 3"'-2'" long. — Hab. Jamaica !, all coll., a common weed; all Caribbean Islands; [Cuba! 

 and Mexico ! to Brazil ! ; introduced into all tropical countries and the Canary Islands !]. 



12. A. nivea, L. Puberulous ; leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, petioled; pedicels 5-12, 3-4 times as long as the greenish-white flowers ; corolla- 

 segments elliptical, bluntish ; column abruptly stipitate ; appendages of the ovate-oblong, 

 white cuculli linear-falcate, exserted; follicles lanceolate, smooth. — Bot. Mag- I. 1181. — 

 Corolla usually smaller, aud follicles narrower than in the preceding. — Hab. Jamaica !, all 

 coll. ; [Cuba! to S. Thomas ; Louisiana]. 



6*. GOMPHOCARPUS, R. Br. 



Character of Asclcpias, but crown-leaflets devoid of an inner hook, unidentate at the base 

 on both sides, and follicles ventricose, usually echinate. — Shrubs or erect herbs; leaves 

 opposite. 



13*. G. fruticosus, R. Br. Shrubby ; branches pubescent ; leaves lanceolate-linear, 

 mucronate, petioled, glabrescent; pedicels 6-12, slender, hoary-pubescent; corolla-segments 

 elliptical, white ; cuculli subtruncate : teeth ascending. — 4'-6' high; corolla-segments re- 

 flexed, 3"' long ; column shortly stalked ; follicles echinate, incurved-ovoid. — Hab. Natura- 

 lized in Jamaica !, March, in the mountains of S. Andrews ; [introduced from Arabia]. 



7. SARCOSTEMMA, R. Br. 



Calyx 5-partite. Corolla rotate, 5-partite or 5-lobed, slightly contorted : crown double, 

 exterior annular or shortly cyathiform, undulate or crenate, connecting the column and the 

 tube, interior larger, 5-leaved, inserted below the anthers. Pollinaria clavate-cylindrical, 

 hanging: tail short, ascending, inserted into the basilar mucro of the deltoid-roundish gland. 

 Stigma prominent, entire or <J-fid. Follicles smooth : seeds comose. — Leaves opposite {or 

 none) ; umbels lateral or terminal. 



14. S. Brownei, Mey. ! Twining, herbaceous, pubescent or glabrate ; leaves ovate- 

 oblong or lanceolate, acuminate or mucronate, blunt at the glanduliferous, petioled base ; 

 peduncles exceeding the leaves : umbel many-flowered, pubescent ; corolla 5-partite, white : 

 segments ovate, bluntish or blunt ; exterior crown annular, subentire, interior leaflets oval, 

 peltate at the base, a little exceeding the column ; stigma conical, subentire ; follicles ovate- 

 lanceolate. — SI. t. 131./. 1. — Asclepias viminalis, Sw. S. Swartzianum, R. S. Gonolobus 

 hirtus, Pt. Bertero! — I exclude Jacq. Amer. Pict. t. 87 (flynanchum clausum), which agrees 

 better with the allied S. glaucum, Kth.— A high climber ; leaves l"-2i", corolla 6"'-7'" 

 diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, all coll., among shrubs, Kingston, Manchester ; [Cuba !, Haiti ! ; 

 Guatemala t, Guiana !]. 



8. OXYPETALUM, R. Br. 



Calyx 5-partite. Corolla-tube shortly campanulate : limb 5-partite, slightly contorted : 

 crown 5-leaved, inserted below the anthers. Pollinaria clavate-cylindrical, hanging : tail 

 short, horizontal with an ascending spur, inserted into the deltoid-constricted base of the 

 oblong gland. Stigma prominent : acumen large, usually deeply bifid. Follicles oblong- 

 lanceolate : seeds comose. — Leaves opposite ; peduncles few-flowered: flowers large. 



15. O. riparvum, Kth. Suffrutieose, twining, pubescent; leaves cordate-acuminate; 

 peduncles 3-1 -flowered, nearly as long as the leaves ; corolla-lobes subulate-filiform, acumi- 

 nate, 3-5 times as long as the tube ; crown-leaflets roundish, crenulate, internally cornicu- 

 late at the base ; stigma deeply bifid : beaks diverging, cylindrical-acuminate.— Kth. N. Gen. 



