( 1813 ) 



COMMERSONIA PLATYPHYLLA. BrOAD-LEAYED 

 COMMERSONIA. 



Class and Order. 

 Pentandria Pentagynia. 



Generic Character. 



Cal. 1-phyllus, corollifer. Pctala 5. Nect* 5-partitum. 

 Caps. 5-locuIaris, echinata. 



Specific Character and Synonyms. 



Commersonia platyphylla ; foliis cordato-ovatis acuminatis 



inaequaliter dentato-terratis, supra scabriusculis infra 



tomentosis. 

 Commersonia platyphylla. Bot. Repos. 603. Icon. 519. Donn 



Cant, a Pursh 92. 

 Commersonia echinata. Bot. Repos. 519. quoad iconem, 



nomine postea in platyphylla rautato : a planta Forsteri 



diversa. 



Descr. A low shrub, with tomentose, irregularly-twisted 

 branches. Leaves cordate, ovate, acuminate, unequally 

 dentate-serrate, veined, rough on the upper surface, tomen- 

 tose underneath. Flowers small, white, in lateral panicles, 

 coming out opposite the leaves. Bractes subulate, one at 

 each division of the panicle. Calyx five-cleft : segments 

 ovate, tomentose on the outside. Corolla five-petaled : petals 

 linear, dilated at the base into two lobes, which conniving 

 enclose the stamen. Filaments short, attached to the base of 

 the petals : anthers round, two-lobed. Nectary five-cleft : 

 lacinioz erect, connivent at the margins, patent at their points, 

 forming a cylindrical cup with a spreading lip. Germen five- 

 knobbed : styles erect, approximate : stigmas capitate. 



