they respectively belong, affords an interesting problem for the 

 consideration of those who incline to the derivative origin of 

 species, and may be supposed to illustrate one kind of useful 

 character, " selected/' and thus apparently moulded, by the exter- 

 nal conditions to which they have been exposed through a long 

 period of time. There can be no doubt that our plant is the 

 same as P. tuberosum, Lindl., the figure of which we quote above. 

 At the time of publication of that species the true P. succtdentum 

 of Thunberg was not certainly known. Indeed M. A. De Can- 

 dolle, in the ' Prodromus,' retains the two as distinct. They have 

 been reduced to one species by M. Planchon (MS. note in Herb. 

 Hook.) . The caudex of another species of the genus Pachypodium. 

 [P. bispinosum) is said to be edible. Our figure is from a speci- 

 men flowered in the Royal Gardens, Kew, presented by W. W. 

 Saunders, Esq., and sent home by Mr. Cooper from South 

 Africa. 



Descr. Caudex much thickened and succulent, smooth, emit- 

 ting erect or ascending, annual, succulent, leafy, glaucous or glau- 

 cescent branches, more or less armed below the leaves with 

 straight, slender, acute, stipular spines. Leaves firm, dark-green, 

 lanceolate, acute, entire, narrowed to the base, subsessile, obso- 

 letely and rather roughly pubescent above, pubescent or somewhat 

 tomentose beneath, about two inches long, half to three-quarters 

 of an inch broad. Stipular spines most prominent on the lower 

 part of the branches, in divaricate pairs, straight, slender, about 

 a quarter of an inch long, Floivcrs terminal, umbellate, forming a 

 head about four inches in diameter, very shortly stalked. Calyx 

 very short, quinquepartite, with lanceolate lobes, pubescent or 

 nearly glabrous. Corolla hypocrateriform, the spreading limb 

 about equalling the tube, tube and limb rose-red beneath, obovate- 

 oblong lobes of the latter paler above, throat deep-red, Stamens 

 included ; anthers sessile or with very short filaments, sagittate, 

 adhering to the oblong stigma. Ovaries two, uniting above in 

 the erect filiform style. 



Fig. 1. Reduced figure of entire plant, showing the gouty stem or caudex. 

 2. Lower part of corolla-tube laid open, showing the anthers. 3. Pistil : — 

 magnified. 



