Tas. 6794. 
IDESIA POLYCARPA. 
Native of Japan. 
_ Nat. Ord. Bixinex.— Tribe Fracourtiex. 
Genus Ipxsia, Maxim. ; (Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Pl. vol. i. p. 972.) 
Inesta polycarpa ; arbor magna, coma rotundata, ramulis crassiusculis cicatricatis, 
foliis alternis longe petivlatis amplis polymorphis rotundatis cordatis ovato- 
oblongisve acuminatis serratis, stipulis parvis caducis, racemis pendulis axilla- 
ribus et terminalibus, floribus dioicis albis v. flavidis, sepalis 3-6 crassiusculis 
pubescentibus coriaceis late oblongis apicibus dentatis, petalis 0, /2. mas. 
staminibus perplurimis, #7. fem. staminodiis numerosis, ovario globoso, stylis 
3-6 patenti-recurvis stigmatibus globoso-clavellatis, placentis 3-6 multiovulatis, 
baccis numerosissimis globosis. 
I. polycarpa, Maxim. Mel. Biol. Imp. Acad. St. Petersh. vol. vi. 1866, fase. i. 
p.19; (Bull. Acad, Petersh. vol. x. 1866, p. 485;) Kranchet et Savat. 
finum, Pl. Jap. vol. i. p. 44; Lavallée, Arboret. Segrez. t. 13; Carriere in 
fev. Hortic. 1872, p. 174, eum ic. xylog. 
Potycarra Maximoviczii, et Ftacourtia Japonica, Hort. 
Kara Senpan, Oliver in Journ, Linn. Soc. vol. ix. p. 168. 
The earliest notice of the remarkable tree, of which the 
female flowers are here represented, was by Professor Oliver 
(as he has pointed out to me) in his paper “On a few 
Plants collected in Japan, &., by Mr. R. Oldham, late 
Collector for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,” published 
in the ninth volume of the Journal of the Linnean Society, 
p- 168, where a description of a specimen in fruit is given, 
with the Japanese name of Kara Sendau, and a reference 
of it, doubtfully, to the order Bizinew. Two years after- 
wards, in 1866, the learned Russian botanist and Japanese 
traveller, Maximovicz, published a full description of it 
under the name of Jdesia, in commemoration of a Dutch 
traveller, Eberhard Isbrants Ides, who undertook an ex- 
ploration of China about the beginning of last century. 
Lastly, a capital figure of it appeared three years ago in 
the beautiful Arboretum Segrezianum” of the lamented 
M. Lavallée, together with full details. There it is described 
as a large tree with a straight trunk crowned with numerous 
horizontally spreading branches, forming a broad rounded 
cyme, resembling the Catalpa. 
Idesia is, as at present known, monotypic, but there is 
JANUARY Ist, 1885, 
