Tan. 5344. 
RITCHIEA pouypera.ta. 
Many-petalled Ritchiea. 
Nat. Ord. CapPparIDEx.—POLYANDRIA MonoGynia. 
Gen. Char. Sepala 4, ampla, valvata. Petala 4 v. plura, longe unguiculata, 
oblonga, undulata, ungue induplicatim valvata, lamina imbricata. Torus hemi- 
sphericus, carnosus. Stamina }2—00, margine tori inserta, filamentis filiformibus 
elongatis. Ovarium ovoideum, 1-loculare, longe stipitatum, placentis 3-4 pro- 
minulis ; ovudis 00; stigmate sessili, magno, discoideo. Bacca elliptico-oblonga, 
3-4-costata. Semina ignota.—Frutices scandentes, erecti, v. sarmentosi. Folia 
3—5-foliolata ; stipulis odsoletis. Flores magni, suaveolentes, virescentes, corym- 
bosi, longe pedicellati. Benth. et Hook. fil. Gen. Pl. 110. 
Ritcuiea polypetala ; foliis 3-5-foliolatis, foliolis oblongo-lanceolatis longe acu- 
minatis, corymbis brevibus paucifloris, floribus breviter pedicellatis amplis’ 
polypetalis. 
R. poly petala. Hook. in Herb. Nostr. 
A very remarkable plant, differing from its congeners, and in- _ 
deed from every other plant of the Natural Order to which it 
belongs, in the numerous petals, which are not even multiples of 
the sepals as might have been expected. It was discovered by — 
the lamented Mr. Barter, of Dr. Baillie’s Niger Expedition, at_ 
Abeokuta, in 1859; and the plant here figured was sent from — 
Western Africa, by Mr. G. Mann, the intrepid collector for the 
Royal Gardens, Kew, from whom so many fine and curious | 
novelties have already been received by us and figured in this 
Magazine. Mr. Barter describes it as an erect shrub, growing in 
forests. It differs from the original species, &. fragrans (Cra- 
teva fragrans, Bot. Mag. t. 556), in the erect habit, short pe- 
duncle and pedicels, and numerous petals. The 2. erecta has 
much smaller flowers and few petals. 
Descr. An erect, glabrous shrub, with alternate, 3—5-folio- 
late /eaves. Petioles slender, terete, three to five inches long. 
Leaflets as long as or longer than the petioles, oblong or obovato- 
NOVEMBER Ist, 1862. 
