Tas. 4733. 
DICHORISANDRA LEUCOPHTHALMOS. 
White-eyed Dichorisandra. 
Nat. Ord. ComMELYNE®.—HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Gen. Char. Flores subregulares. Sepala 6, libera; exteriora calycina, navi- 
cularia, persistentia: supremum interdum crassius (Endl.) ; interiora majora, pe- 
taloidea, subobovata, basi cuneato-angustata: anticum paulo minus. Stamina 6, 
interdum sextum sepalo exteriori impari respondens, imperfectum vel plane de- 
ficiens, basi sepalorum interiorum inserta, per duas phalanges disposita. Fila- 
menta breviuscula, imberbia. Anthere conformes, interdum magnitudine parum 
ineequales, elongate, biloculares ; Joculis angustis, parallelis, contiguis, apice poro 
communi hiantibus, juvenilibus bilocellatis. Ovarium sessile, triloculare ; ovulis 
4—5 in quolibet loculo, subbiseriatis. Stylus filiformis. Stigma subcapitellatum. 
Capsula (baccata, Nees, corolla baccante indusiata, Mik.) trilocularis, trivalvis ; 
valvis medio septiferis. Semina plura, angulata, arillo (testa) membranaceo sub- 
pulposo laxo separabili tecta (Vah/).—Herbee (Brasilienses) subsimplices v. ra- 
mose, perennes, rarissime suffrutescentes, sepe? erecta, interdum scandentes. Folia 
indivisa. Vaginee integra. Racemi terminales, solitarii, rarius versus basin caulis 
lateraliter erumpentes, ramosi, bracteati ; ramis breviusculis, apicem versus pauci- 
rarius multifloris. Flores cerulei, nonnulli abortu ovarit mascult. Kth. 
Dicnortsanpra Jeucophthalmos ; foliis ellipticis acuminatis utrinque glabrius- 
culis, scapis radicalibus vel subradicalibus aphyllis vaginatis paniculati 
racemosis glaberrimis, bracteis e lata basi acuminatis sepala exteriora vix- 
superantibus, floribus hexandris. 
Native of Brazil, introduced to the stoves of the British 
Gardens by Messrs. Henderson, St. John’s Wood, to whom we 
are indebted for our flowering plant. How near the present 
species is to the Dichorisandra radicalis, Nees and Martius, may 
be seen by referring to the figure in the eleventh volume of the 
Nov. Act. Nat. Cur., tab. 1 A: that species however abundantly 
differs in the much smaller size, especially of the flowers, in the 
very villous stem and sheaths and peduncles, m the very long, 
subulate, hairy bracteas, much longer than the capitate flowers, 
and the presence of only five stamens. With us it blossoms in 
August lst, 1853. 
