a4 POLYANDRIA. POLYGYNIA. 
36, about the length of the calix. Utriculi ob- 
long, 6 to 9; 2-seeded. 
An aquatic plant, with alternate, entire elliptic peltate 
floating leaves, at first as well as the flowers and young- 
er shoots enveloped by a tenaceous and gellatinous fluid; 
peduncles solitary, 1-lowered, flower brown. Styles 
none. Stigma simple, lateral, lineax, on the inner side 
{almost similar to that of Sparganium). Seeds pendulous 
from the dorsal suture. 
Species. 1. B. peltata. Os. Stem, petiole, and pe- 
duncle cylindric, covered with an inconspicuous floccu- 
lent pubescence immersed in a gellatinous substance, 
which at first envelopes the young leaves and flowers. 
Stem furnished with 2 sets of confluent central vessels, 
and also with external circles of filiform tubes, tubes in 
each circle 9 to 12; ganglions of central vessels about 4 
in each set, each set separated by an empty tube; numer- 
ous longitadinal purple fibres are interspersed with the 
exterior circle of tubes, appearing at length to inoscu- 
late on the under side of the leaf giving it a purple colour, 
as well as the stem, petiole, peduncle, petals, stamina and 
styles, there being nothing in fact green in the whole 
plant except the upper surface of the leaf. The central 
vessels arrived in the leaf, from their eceentricity and dow- 
éle order, communicate to it an elegant and almost exactly 
elliptic form, and finally resolve into about 12 nerves. In 
. the peduncle there are 3 ions of central vessels se- 
-parated from each other by interrupted circles of acrial 
tubes.—2d. Ozs. As the elliptic form of the leaf origin- 
ates from the eccentricity and duplicature of the central . 
vessels, expanding in an ellipse or 2 intersecting circles, 
so we may justly consider it as a species of double leaf, 
hence also the stamina and the fruit is in the same man- 
ner augmented. In its coordinate Cabomba which produ- 
ces orbicular peltate leaves, we find only 6 stamina instead 
of 18, 2 or 3 styles and capsules in place of 6 or more, but 
containing the same number of seeds and of nearly the 
_ same form.-—-Hence we perceive the same type in its sim- 
ple form! A proof of the small importance of mere num- 
ber in the character of classes or of natural groupes. 
: There exists not the smallest affinity betwixt this very 
singular plant and Caitha it is equally removed from eve- 
Pye Ege of the RanuNcuLAGCEA, ant its place in 
natural system has been well defined by the ingeni- 
ous and indefatigable Richard. V. Annales du Museum 
a7... 5. £22. 
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