Few things can exceed the elegance or the richness of colouring in 

 the beautiful flowers of this shrub ; but unfortunately they are rarely 

 produced in our stoves, and very quickly drop, scarcely lasting more 

 than twenty-four hours. The specimen described produced several 

 fasciculi in short succession, in February, 1842, in the Botanic 

 Garden, Edinburgh. 



It is a native of Jamaica, and was introduced to our gardens so long 

 ago as 1793, by Admiral Blyth; but has never been recorded as 

 having flowered till now. Six other species are enumerated, all 

 inhabiting the continent of South America. 



Descr. Trunk (in the specimen described, an old plant, ten feet 

 high) erect, brown and rough with the dark disquamating cuticle, 

 branched; branches pendulous, twigs glaucous and warted. Leaves 

 alternate, abruptly pinnated, pendulous ; petiole (three to nine inches 

 long) slender, green, and shining; pinna in two to five pairs, subop- 

 posite, flat, oblong, acuminate, green and glabrous on both sides, 

 subconaceous, the most distant (six to eight inches long, two and a 

 iialt to three and a quarter inches broad,) the largest, gradually smaller 

 towards the plant, mid-rib prominent below, flat above, veins oblique, 

 curved and terminating before reaching the edges. Flower-bud large, 

 globular, terminal or subsessile in the axil of the petioles, incased with 

 large, round, rose-coloured scales which are villous on the outside, 

 sinning within. Mowers fascicled, of uniform, brilliant vermillion-rose 

 colour, pendulous, the terminal ones expanding first, and the others in 

 succession downwards. Calyx coloured like all the parts of the flower ; 

 pv," f ?' ? Y ' pe T tent ' S labrous on the outside, and also within, 

 Kfwl lt f. a P ex ., w ^ ere ll is Pubescent, obconical, slightly angled, 

 Wunf hZ i Xl1 ° f a su ^ lat e-filiform bract, and incased by two 



mkklle nnri ', a n g f l U f ° T the other ' coalescing to above their 

 uneoualU .o US; *"* ^T^' segments as long as the tube, 



S^dSdu^" 1 ?! ad 7 rr d ^ iptica1 ' blunt ' S lab ™ s concave ' thin 

 funnel s Wrf ?/ ^ (an mch and a 1 uarter ^S) nve-petalous, 



thrthroaf of t£ ^ ^i' tapering int0 lon S cla ^ inserted int ° 



em\^ e we^ti^' ? °^ 1 the c % x ' ^^equal, undulate, 

 SPSS Xw^i nervatlon uniform. Stamens inserted with the 



jftSlSS l: hem dI a deftTo'tSeTn h ° U \ and f^^ 

 of the calvx-limb; atUhmvto^^^^^^^T™ 

 granules oblong. Pu« hoi T % '* P T^^ ™' 



capitate, dark; style strath fil f n ^i ^T^ 1 ^ ma Sma11 ' 



putesc € nt,8tipitate!VS^S 1, f ab T S; r men dense1 ^ 

 numerous! Sranam Ulk adlierent to the calyx-tube; ovules 



which he gave to the world in 17Sfi ,„ k- in, „■ 

 History of Jamaica." The connlml I hlS valuable " Cl vil and Natural 

 CornhUl, in 17G5, and the wj never ^ *" ^ in a S reat fire in 

 us corrections and additions were mTl! 1° a sec ° n <? editlo «. although 

 to Sir Joseph Banks. made b ? the Author, which he sent 



1. F 



ower 



slightly magnified. 



