Tab. 5524. 



BERTOLONIA guttata. 



Spotted-leaved Bertolonia. 



Nat. Ord. Melastomace,e. — Decandria (vel Octandeia) Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Flos 5-merus. Calycis campanulati denies tubo saepius breviores, 

 persistentes. Petala obovata obtusavel apiculata. Stamina 10, sequalia vel sub- 

 aequalia ; antheris lineari-subulatis, rectis, aut parum arcuatis 1-porosis, connec- 

 tivo infra loculos noil producto, sed postice ad basiin antherae tuberculato. Ova- 

 rium liberum, subtriquetrum, apice obtuse 3-lobo, profunde urnbilicatum, 3-lo- 

 culare. Stylus filiformis, stigmate punctiforrai. Capsula omnino triquetra, vel 

 potius 3-alata, calyce conformi vestita, apice trigono, umbilicata, 3-valvis. Semina 

 ovato-angulata vel irregulariter pyramidata. — Herbse austro-Americance, in locis 

 humidis umbrosis imove subinundatis crescentes, radice interdum sublignosa, canle 

 scapiformi, foliis late cordiformibus vel suborbiculatis rarins obovatis, flovibus 

 sapius in racemos scorpioides disposilis, albis roseis aut purpurascentibus. Naud. 



Beetolonia guttata; radice lignosa longe repente caudiciformi, caulibus 

 erectis subsimplicibus spitharaasis parce stellatim pubescentibus obtuse 

 quadrangularibus, foliis glabris longe petiolatis ovatis acutiusculis quin- 

 queveniis, basi obtusis, marginibus integenimis vel suberoso-dentatis, sub- 

 tus purpureis, supra intra venas albo vel roseo maculatis, pedunculo sul)- 

 terminali foliis multo breviore, cyma 5-10-flora, calyce turbinato piloso 

 glandulosa, limbi lobis rotundatis demum scariosis, hie illic dorso margine- 

 que remote dentato-pilosis, petalis roseis. 



A flowering specimen of this most lovely Melastomaceous 

 plant was received from Messrs. Veitch, of the King's Road 

 Nursery, Chelsea, in May of the present year, as a native of 

 Madagascar, — incorrectly, perhaps, so labelled, for we know of 

 no true species of Bertolonia having been detected in Madagas- 

 car, but we have beautiful samples identical with this in our her- 

 barium, collected at St. Sebastian, Brazil, by the late Mr. Fox 

 (n. 89), and again from the Province of St. Paul, South Brazil, 

 collected by Mr. Weir, in 1861-2 (n. 40). It appears to be 

 quite undescribed, and is, so far as we know, peculiar to Brazil. 

 Three species of the genus only are described by Naudin, 



AiousT 1st, 1865. 



