which Mr. Don, in his Prodr. Fl. Nep., and Drs. Hooker and 
Thomson, in their Fl. Indica, ined., have unhesitatingly referred 
it, though probably in both cases without having seen any au- 
thentic (Japanese or Chinese) specimens of Thunberg’s plant. 
Our present object is however to notice the differences between 
the plant now before us and what we shall consider B. Bealei 
vera. It has much smaller and denser flowers,—twice the 
number, at least, in the same length of raceme; the bracts, the 
rachises, the petioles especially, and even the scales on the young 
branches, are tinged with red or dark purple; the leaves are 
shorter and more compact, the leaflets thicker, almost imbri- 
cated, and more deltoid in form,—that is, having the base trun- 
cated and almost lapping over the base of the opposite one; and 
what is still more remarkable, singularly plane on the surface, 
the margins between the spines by no means reflexed as in true 
Bealei (and as in the leaf of the Holly). It proves perfectly hardy, 
and has stood quite unharmed through our late severe winters. 
Both are in blossom with us in March, in a cool house. 
Dzscr. Our plant is at present scarcely a foot high. The 
young branches are moderately stout, pale glaucous-green, scaly, 
with purplish-brown, lanceolate, appressed scales. Leaves spread- 
_ ing, the largest of our plant a foot long,* with usually four, never 
te 
- more than five, pairs of opposite Jeafiets, including the lowest 
pair, which are more distant from the rest, and so close to the 
stem as to have quite the appearance of large stipules: the ter- 
minal Jeaflet_is petiolate and cordato-ovate, the rest are deltoid- 
_ ovate, spreading horizontally, thick, coriaceous, the base trun- 
cate, its whole breadth closely applied to, and even lapping over, 
_ the rachis, quite plane on the surface, sinuato-spinose, the spines 
few (five to six), strong and pungent, the lowest pair are the 
most deltoid, and the terminal leaflet is almost exactly ovate, 
_ subcordate at the base, and has the most spines (seven to nine) : 
_ the colour is very dark, opaque, green above, and slightly glau- 
cous, paler and not at all glaucous beneath: the rachis is dark 
purple, nodose at the setting on of the leaflets. Racemes in a 
terminal fascicle, springing from an involucre of several, herba- 
ceous, broad, ovate, green scales, tipped with purple. Rachis 
terete, tinged with purple: the lower part destitute of flowers, 
but scaly, with spreading bracts, the same which are at the base 
oe Of the short pedicels, herbaceous, red-purple. Flowers small, 
secund, drooping, crowded. Corolla yellow : petals bifid at the 
apex. 
Fig. 1. Flower. 2. Petal and stamen. 3. Pistil :—maynified. 
* These leaves vary remarkably in size. Messrs. Standish and Noble have 
_ sent us a tracing of a terminal leaflet which measures eight inches long and 
rather more than six broad! 
