of the Natural Order of Myrti. 261 



genus in the Hortus Kewenfis. Forfter confounded with them, 

 under the name of Leptofpcnnnm, another naoft diirinct genus, the 

 Metrofideros of Banks and Solander. Gartner firft feparated all 

 thefe, and really underftood the genus of which we are now Uoat- 

 ing, though he did not. find out its genuine eacntial chaiactcr, the 

 capitate ftigma, which (as well as the ihortnefs of the ftamina) 

 clearly diitinguiihes it from Metrofideros. With Philadeiphus it has 

 no refembiance in habit, nor fcarcely any botanical characters in 

 common. The excellent Dr. Solander would certainly never have 

 referred thefe plants to that genus, had he examined the common 

 Philadelphus itfelf, which is clearly and ftrikingly diftinguifhed by 

 its more or lefs deeply quadrifid llyle and fifnple ftigmas, without 

 adverting to the broad bafe of the petals, or the differences pointed 

 out by Gaertner in the fruit. Even Tournefort's figures fhew the 

 characters above mentioned, though the ftyle is commonly more' 

 deeply divided than he reprefents it, infomuch that the flowers have 

 often actually four flyles. Duhamel delcribes them fo, giving a 

 very incorrect reprefentation of thefe Ityles, with capitate ftigmas 

 (which ought to be frmple), by the fide of his copy of Tournefort's 

 figure, to which his has as little refembiance as can well be. 



The younger Linnaeus and Profeflbr Schreber have confounded 

 JLeptofpermum, as well as Metrofideros, with Melaleuca, with which the 

 latter of the two only has any great natural affinity. Dr. George 

 Forfter has fallen into the fame error in his Prodromus published in 

 1786. 



The fpecies of JLeptofpermum are much lefs eafy to define than its 

 generic character. Many of them are to be ken in the Englifh 

 gardens, and feveral have often flowered. The following attempt 

 to characterife fuch as are diftinctiy known to me, may ferve till 

 we have more light upon the fubject; there being feveral more fpe- 

 cies 



