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poterium caudatum. smooth shrubby 

 Burnet. 



Class and Order. 



MoNCECIA POLYANDRIA. 



Generic Character. 



Masc. Cat 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-partita, Stam. 30—50. 

 Pem. Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-partita. Pist. 2. Bacca e 

 tubo corollae indurate 



Specific Character and Synonyms. 



Poterium caudatum [Dioicum] inerme, frutescens, ramis 

 teretibus villosis, spicis elongatis laxis. Hort. Kew. 

 ed. I. 3. p. 354. ed. alt. 5. p. 286. Willd. Sp. PI. 4. 

 p. 423. Poiret Encycl. Bot. Suppl. 4. p. 415. Martyr* 

 Mill. Diet. n. 4. 



Native of the Canary Islands, from whence it was i.ntro-^ 

 duced into this country in the year 1779 by Mr. Francis 

 Masson, but seems to be very little known upon the con- 

 tinent, as we judge by its not occurring in any of the 

 systematic writers, except as copied from the first edition 

 of Aiton's Hortus Kewensis. 



In some respects it differs from the other species of the 

 genus, but has a nearer affinity with spinosum than the rest. 



It seems to be constantly dioecious, the male and female 

 flowers growing upon distinct shrubs. We have twice in 

 different years received specimens from our friend Mr. 

 Walker of Arno's-grove both of them female, and from 

 Messrs. Whitley, Brame and Milne, a specimen from a 

 male plant. In the female each flower is supported by a 

 proportionally large, concave, ovate-acuminate bracte, and 

 and two interior smaller ones, {Calyx of Linnaeus) villous, 

 scariose, deciduous, and applied close to the globular, 

 germen. Calyx ( Corolla of Linnaeus) four-cleft, green edged 



with 



