Staphylosyce. | LXIV. CUCURBITACEH (HOOKER). 555 
obtuse. Filaments 3, connate ? anthers connate into a globose head, 
cells conduplicate. Female #l.: Staminodes 3, large, sessile, globose. 
vary ovoid, glabrous; style columnar ; stigmas 3, lange, obcordate, 
2-lobed ; a numerous on 3 placentas. Fruit globose, fleshy. 
Seeds many, ovate, compressed, smooth, margins obtuse; testa coria- 
ceous.—A glabrous, climbing, slender African shrub. Leaves young 
Ovate, adult palmately 5-lobed, membranous. ‘Tendrils 2-3-fid, stout. 
<i in short, strict, stout, axillary spikes, small or middling-sized, 
yellow, 
I suspect that this genus will merge into Physedra ; the specimens are very imper- 
ect, and owing to their texture and colour difficult of analysis. 
1. Ss, Barteri, Hook. J. le. Climbing, 15-20 ft. Stem terete. 
Leaves variable, short-petioled, dark green or brown when dry, upper 
sutire, coarsely sinuate-toothed, 4 in. long, lower broader, palmately 
3-5-lobed, deeply cordate at the base, lobes oblong, upper surface of 
the old leaves densely covered with white papille. Spikes many- 
flowered, stout, 1 in. long, strict, puberulous, with short fleshy? per- 
‘stent, glandular bracteoles at the base of the very short racemed 
pedicels. Flowers about 3 in. diameter. Fruit 3—4 in. diameter, 
eshy. Seeds 5 in. long. 
Upper Guinea. F ernando Po and Nupe on the Niger, Barter ! 
24. CUCURBITA, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. i. 828. 
Moneecious, Flowers all solitary. Male: Calyx-tube campanu- 
late, lobes simple or foliaceous. Corolla campanulate, 5-lobed to or 
ow the middle ; lobes recurved at the apex. Filaments 3, free, in- 
Serted at the base of the calyx ; anthers connate, one l-celled, two 
2-celled, cells elongate, conduplicate. Rudiment of ovary 0. Female fl: 
taminodes 3. Ovary oblong; style short, stigmas 3, 2-lobed; ovules 
querous, on 3 placentas. Fruit fleshy. Seeds many, ovate or oblong, 
attened, margined or not.—Annual or perennial-rooted tropical herbs ; 
branches usually prostrate and rooting. Leaves lobed, cordate at the 
ase. Tendrils 2-multifid. Flowers large, yellow. Fruit large. 
The gourds and pumpkins are commonly cultivated, and very variable and difficult to 
distinguish by dr i audin’s ch ters, which were 
) specimens. I have adopted here Naudin’s characters, 
sean drawn Rous a sntieitadda of cults ated specimens of all the forms of each 
cies, 
Leaves not ‘ . ickly; calyx-lobes 
subnlate bamad eee mas see f — 7 r Hide is Obama 
‘ves deeply lobed; petioles prickly ; calyx-lobes subulate . . . 2. C. Pepo. 
aves more or less obed ; petioles scarcely prickly ; calyx-lobes 
foliaceous 3. C. moschata. 
a... maxima, Duchesne; Naud. in Ann. Se. Nat. sér. 4, Vi. a 
Annual, Stems subterete. Leaves large, reniform, 5-lobed, lobes 
rounded, sinus shallow or 0; hairs of petiole equal, rough, not ha 
Bent. Flowering peduncles terete. Calyx-tube obeonie, not contractec 
under the campanulate corolla; teeth linear filiform or undeveloped. 
