ON SOUTH-AMERICAN APOCYNACEZ. 13 
the name of Mangaba, affords a material like india-rubber, which is likely to become an 
article of commerce. 
The Hancornia floribunda, figured by Póppig, is a species of Zshokkea; and the Han- 
cornia laxa, A. DC., belongs to Ambellania. 
The analysis of the fruit and seed of Hancornia speciosa is shown in Plate 1 A. 
AMBELLANIA. 
A genus well described and figured by Aublet upon a single Guiana species: to this 
Dr. Miiller added five others from Brazil, two of which must be excluded, as indicated 
below. The genus is easily distinguished from Cowma, Hancornia, and Zschokkea by the 
segments of the corolla, which are linear-oblong, obtuse, membranaceous, simply con- 
voluted sinistrorsely in sestivation, afterwards expanded, and by other characters. The 
fruit differs from those of the above genera in its fleshy envelope divided into 2 cells by 
a very thick fleshy placentiferous dissepiment, in which numerous small seeds are half 
imbedded ; these seeds are oval, subcompressed, and peltately attached by a ventral hilum. 
7. AMBELLANIA CUCUMERINA, Spruce in Hook. Kew Journ. v. 185 et 243: arborescens, undique lactes- 
cens: foliis ovato-oblongis, imo rotundatis, apice sensim apiculatis, integris, marginibus subre- 
volutis, tenuiter chartaceis, supra viridibus, opacis, subtus pallidioribus, valde opacis, sub lente 
minute granulatis, nervis numerosis tenuibus crebre parallelis recte divergentibus prope marginem 
arcuatis, venis vix ullis, costa supra suleata, subtus prominula; petiolo tenui, canaliculato, limbo 
40plo breviore: racemo brevi, axillari, pedunculo petiolum quante, floribus subcongestis ; pedicellis 
brevissimis; sepalis brevibus, ovatis; corolle tubo cylindrico, glabro, superne sensim latiore, calyce 
quadruplo longiore, intus lineis 5 lanato-piloso, segmentis sub:equilongis, lineari-oblongis, obtusulis, 
zestivatione simpliciter sinistrorsum convolutis, demum expansis; staminibus infra medium tubi 
insertis, filamentis brevissimis, antheris acuminatis, imo emarginatis; stylo brevi, valido, apice 
indusiatim concavo; stigmatibus 2, globosis, indusio nidulantibus: drupa ovato-oblonga utrinque 
obtusa, costatim pentagona, pericarpio crassissimo, carnoso, extus (modo cucumeri) muricato- 
tuberculato, 2-loculari, dissepimento crasso carnoso seminigero; seminibus plurimis, ovatis, plano- 
convexis; testa tenui, dura, hilo parvo supra medium peltatim affixa; embryone in albumine sub- 
corneo subzequilongo incluso, cotyledonibus anguste semiteretibus radicula ad imum spectante triplo 
longioribus. In Brasilia: v. pl. sicc. in hb. Hook., fructus in Mus. Kew., Panuré, Rio Negro 
(Spruce 2413). 
A slender branching tree, 15-30 feet high, yielding an abundant milky juice; its 
opposite leaves are 44-54 in. long, 13-27 in. broad, on petioles about 1j line long, 
having about 30 pairs of parallel nerves, with others shorter and intermediate; the 
small black dots mentioned by Spruce are merely superficial, and in no way resemble 
the pellucid dots of the Myrtacee; the imbricated pruinose sepals are 3 lines long; the 
tube of the corolla 5 lines long, its segments 4 lines long. The fruit, called ** Pepino do 
matto ” (wild cucumber), is 3$ in. long, 1} in. broad, the angles alternate with the sepals ; 
the pericarp, of firm texture, is edible, sweet-tasted, with the odour of a ripe apple, and 
4-5 lines thiek, the dissepiment between the 2 narrow cells being 3 lines thick, bearing 
about 60 oval compressed fleshy seeds 3 lines long, 2 lines broad, covered by a hard 
greenish scabrid testa, marked by a small hilum in the middle, by which it is attached 
