of Southport, Lancashire, in 1899. It is still alive, and 
apparently healthy, although it is not very big; and it 
produced a very small inflorescence in 1900. Since then 
it has not flowered. 
Tanakea radicans is not one of those plants with a 
probable future in gardens, but it is highly interesting 
from a botanical standpoint. The individual plants bear 
only unisexual flowers, and the one depicted bore only 
female flowers; the inflorescence having the appearance of 
a miniature Astilbe japonica. The figure in the ‘‘ Honzo 
Zufu” represents a male plant, having runners like those 
of the strawberry plant. The figure in the “ Zomoku 
Zusetsu”’ is of a female plant with an enlarged male 
flower by its side, which is reproduced in our plate. 
Franchet and Savatier, in the place cited above, give no 
locality for Tanakea, and the only specimen in the Kew 
Herbarium is from the Science College, Imperial Univer- 
sity of Japan. It is labelled ‘“* Mt. Amagi, Prov. Idn.” 
I have not been able to fix this locality, and the 
transliteration may not be correct. 
The genus. Tanakea is most nearly related to Leptar- 
rhena pyrelifolia, R. By., a native of North America and 
Kamtschatka, which it strongly resembles in foliage, but it 
differs essentially in floral structure. 
Descr.—A lowly, dicecious, or perhaps sometimes monce- 
cious, scapose herb, producing runners similar to those of 
the strawberry-plant. Runners very slender. Leaves 
petiolate, thick, almost fleshy, at. length coriaceous, in- 
cluding the petiole four to eight inches long; blade 
oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, rounded or some- 
what cordate at the base, acute, sparingly setulose 
on both surfaces, doubly serrulate. Scapes exceedingly 
slender, branched, pyramidal, six or seven inches high. 
Bracts at the base of the branches linear, acute, one and a 
half to three lines long. Flowers exceedingly small, 
greenish white, shortly stalked, solitary in the axils of 
bracts of about the same length as the calyx. Sepals five, 
almost free, oblong-lanceolate, about a quarter of a line 
long. Petals none. Male flowers: stamens ten, alternate 
ones shorter; filaments filiform, twice as long as the 
sepals ; “ anthers one-celled ;”” rudimentary ovary minute. 
