cut it completely off. A single blossom which Mr. Lerps 
had given me to draw is all that is saved, and its beauty now 
is passed : I think, however, I have been successful in deli- 
neating its character and colour, and I send you the frag- 
ments for examination. Only one seed vegetated ; and the 
title upon the paper was. ‘ Composrra speciosa :’—and it is 
said to have come from Jorullo. The plant came up to the 
height of about eighteen inches, very much like a common 
Sun-flower, the outer and lower leaves being about the size 
of the one sent, and the inner ones smaller, and very close 
together at the top, as in the Sun-flower, with all the leaves 
entire. It then threw out lobed leaves, and became a ver 
different looking plant. It rose to the height of about, five 
feet, beset with branches very thickly all the way from the 
bottom to the top, the lower ones projecting nearly hori- 
zontally from the plant, turning up at the ends, and about 
eighteen inches long, the rest gradually decreasing in length 
up to the top and forming a complete cone. The first 
flower which appeared was at the termination of the main 
branch, and quite erect, and afterwards each lateral one 
threw out a flower at its termination rather in a horizontal 
direction, the end of the flowering stalk inclining upwards. 
The stem is round, and covered with a fine silky substance, 
but the leaves are rather coarse, and very subject to be 
infested with Aphis.” 
I confess I have had some difficulty in referring this plant 
to its proper Genus: the swollen peduncle, orange-coloured 
flowers, and lobed leaves, would lead me to consider it a 
Tirnonta ; perhaps even T. tagetiflora (Don, in Bot. Reg. 
t. 591); but the involucre and pappus, and scales of the 
receptacle are very different, unless the figure strangel 
misrepresents these parts, and in all essential characters it 
agrees well with the third subgenus of HELIANTHUs of Lessing 
(Leienta of Cassin1). The florets of the circumference 
are destitute of pappus, those of the centre have six serrated 
scales, and two opposite, very long, subulate, and hispid 
bristles. The scales of the receptacle are very long and 
rigid, keeled on the back, 
Fig. 1. Lower portion of a radiate Floret, 
Scale of the Involucre. 4. Inner view 
Floret of the Disk :—magnified. 
. = Floret from the Disk. 3. 
of the Stigma. 5. Fruit from a 
