slender stalks, many globose, corrugated, dark brown, 
almost black seeds, filled with a fleshy albumen, and having 
an embryo immersed in that albumen, near the base of the 
seed, and with the radicle pointing to the hilum. The coty- 
ledons are a little spreading, and notched at the ends. 
This singular and very beautiful plant, which already con- 
stitutes one of the most lovely ornaments of our flower- 
borders, was discovered by Mr. Menzizs in 1792, during 
the celebrated voyage of Capt. Vancouver, in various parts 
of the coast of California: but lay long in the Herbaria of 
various Botanists of this country, to whom its discoverer 
had generously distributed it, as a new Genus, allied to 
CneLiponium, but without any public notice being taken 
of it. At length, in the year 1820, it appeared in the Hore 
Physice Berolinenses, under the name we have here adopt- 
ed, as a discovery of the able Naturalists, Cuamisso and 
Escuscnoxz, at St. Francisco in California, during the Rus- 
sian voyage of discovery, directed by Count Romanzorr, 
and commanded by Korzzsus. Still it was only known 
from dried specimens, and it was again reserved for a Bo- 
tanist of this country to introduce it to our gardens. The 
indefatigable Mr. Dovetas gathered it abundantly on the 
North-west coast of America, on the dry sandy banks of 
streams, on the plains of the river Multnomah, in about 43° 
North latitude, and Southward to the Spanish possessions, 
where, as with us, it flowers from July till September; and 
seeds were sent to the Horticultural Society’s garden, 
whence they have been dispersed both at home and abroad 
by that valuable institution. | : 
I may observe, that specimens of the Escuscnoiz1a were 
found. by the Botanists Mr. Lay and Mr. Coxtre of Capt. 
Brrcuy’s Expedition, both at Monterfy and other places on 
the coast of California. Ds Canpotxe, in his Prodromus, 
not without much hesitation, places this Genus among his 
Catycirtor#, at the end of Loasez: misled, perhaps by 
Cuamisso, who, in his first memoir on the plant, in the Hore 
Phys. Berol. calls the stamens perigynous. But had he 
Seen living plants, or had Cuamisso’s further observations in 
the “ Linnza”’ been then published, where this latter error 
'S corrected, that great man would unquestionably have 
ranked it with Papayaracesz: or if, as eRe A “ the 
recewed Character of Paravarace# Will not admit the union 
of Escuscuoxzia, that Character must be amended.” ‘The 
cup-shaped, fleshy body into which the pistil is pp arias 
