on the Hortus Malabaricus, Part IT. 231 
father Rhamnus Vitis Idæa, and added to his synonyma the plant 
of Breynius, which Commeline and Plukenet conjectured to be 
the Niruri. He omitted with great propriety that of Sloane. 
The Rhamnus Vitis Idea continued undisturbed, until Retzius, 
probably from the notes of Koenig, described a plant, which he 
took to be the same with the Rhamnus, and called it Phyllanthus 
Rhamnoides ( Enc. Meth. v. 298.). Although M. Poiret admits 
this identity, yet I have no doubt of both authors having been 
mistaken ; for the stem of this Phyllanthus is only ** un peu fru- 
tescente, glabre, et divisée en rameaux glabres. Dans les fleurs 
males, les calices sont tronqués. Le fruit est une capsule.” 
But in the Rhamnus zeylanicus of Burman, ‘ Rami subhirsuti : 
flosculus tetrapetalus ; bacca nigra ;” and in the Niruri, “frutex 
altitudine septem vel octo pedum, rami tenuiter pilosi; flores 
constantes quinque foliis rotundis; fructus forma plano rotun- 
dioli, intus cum maturi sunt succo aqueo cæruleo repleti. In 
hisce parva semina, que angusta sunt, continentur." The Phy/- 
lanthus rhamnoides therefore is neither the Rhamnus Vitis Idea of 
the younger Burman, that is, the Rhamnus zeylanicus of his father, 
nor the Niruri, so nearly allied to it, which is the plant of Brey- 
nius, that has been also quoted for the Phyllanthus Vitis Idæa. 
Willdenow, (Sp. Pl. iv. 580.) however, for the Phyllanthus 
rhamnoides quotes the plant described by Retzius ; and in the 
Encyclopédie Méthodique, the Rhamnus Vitis Idea of the younger 
Burman, the Rhamnus zeylanicus of the elder Burman, the Acacie 
forte cognatus of Plukenet, and the Frutex indicus baccifer of 
Breynius, which is the Niruri. Little dependence can however 
‘be placed on his accuracy ; for, as M. Poiret justly observes 
(Enc. Meth. Sup. iv. 408.), he had previously quoted (Sp. Pl. i. 
1102.) both the Rhamnus zeylanicus and the Acaciæ forte cogna. 
tus for the Zizyphus or Rhamnus lineatus, which the latter may 
be, although M. Poiret, on comparing specimens, thinks that 
the 
