Tas. 6204. 
PERNETTYA PENTLANDII. 
Native of the Andes of South America. 
‘ 
Nat. Ord. Ericace®.—Tribe ARBUTE. 
Genus Pernetrya, Gaud. (Benth. et Hook. f., Gen. Plant., vol, ii., p. 582 ined.), 
PERNETTYA Pentlandii; fructiculus ramosissimus, ramulis sparse setulosis glabrisve, 
foliis confertis breviter petiolatis ovatis acutis non mucronatis serrulatis 
rigide coriaceis supra levibus, siccis subtus rugulosis, pedicellis axillaribus 
1-floris foliis brevioribus y. longioribus glabris puberulis v. setulosis, 
bracteolis parvis situ variis, calycis lobis ovatis acutis fructiferis dorso 
tumidis carnosis ciliolatis, corolla globoso-ovoidea glabra, bacea pisiformi. 
ri errr DC., Prodr., vol. vii., p. 587 ; Wedd., Chlor. Andin., vol. ii., p. 170, 
eb yds Cs 
P.’angustata et P. parvifolia, Benth., Pl. Hartweg, p. 219. 
? P. purpurea, D. Don, ex. G. Don. Gen. Syst., vol. iii., p. 837; DC., Le. 
A little evergreen shrub, a native of the temperate and 
colder regions of the higher Cordilleras from Venezuela to 
Chili, ascending to near the limit of perpetual snow, and 
varying greatly in stature, habit, and size of leaf. The form 
figured here approaches to the var. parvifolia of Weddel 
(P. parvifolia, Benth.), which inhabits the Andes of Ecuador, 
as Pichincha and Cotopaxi, and has smaller leaves and short 
pedicels. 
The curious intumescence of the back of the fruiting sepals 
of this species is a remarkable character, not noticed by any 
author, and perhaps not. constant; it is worthy of remark, 
however, as showing a tendency to Gaultheria, in which the 
enlarged baccate fruiting calyx embraces the capsule, and in 
which genus the capsule becomes baccate in a few species, 
and thus shows a tendency towards the structure of 
Pernettya. In fact, except by the characters of the fruiting 
calyx and fruit, these two genera are not distinguishable. 
They have, however, very different geographical ranges, 
Pernettya being, with the exception of an anomalous Tas- 
manian species, confined to and abounding in the South Ameri- 
can Alps, whereas (waltheria, though equally or even more 
abundant on the Andean Pernettya region, extends to New 
Zealand, Australia, the Malayan Archipelago, and Indian Alps. 
December Ist, 1875. 
