MR. J. MIERS ON THE BARRINGTONIACEA. 55 
1. BARRINGTONIA. 
This genus was established by the two Forsters in 1776, after their return from the second 
voyage of Capt. Cook, when they published very good analyses of its floral and carpological 
structure ', the plant itself being well represented in the drawings of Forster and of 
others who copied the same. The younger Linnzeus, іп 1781, gave its generic character * 
and details of the typical plant?, obtained from a communication made to him from 
Forster ; but as the plant and drawings of it were both unknown to him, he wrongly con- 
cluded that it was identical with Osbeck’s Mammea asiatica, with Sonnerat's Commersona, 
and Rumph’s Butonica. 
Blume іп 1827%, perhaps wholly unacquainted with the details and drawings of 
Forster, applied the name of Barringtonia speciosa, as the younger Linnzus had done, 
to other plants found by him in Java; hence in his generic character of Barringtonia 
he ascribed to it carpological features quite at variance with Forster’s description and 
analysis; and to this cause we may attribute all the complications that have since 
occurred. 
DeCandolle, in 1827 °, not perceiving this mistake, adopted Blume’s definition uncon- 
ditionally—an example followed by Roxburgh, Wight, the Dutch botanists, and authers 
of every nation since that period; and hence the general confusion at present existing, 
from which I have here attempted to extricate the family. 
One of the most remarkable characters of Barringtonia is the presence of a dicotyle- 
donous embryo in the seed, a unique occurrence till lately, when the genus Planchonia 
was established by Blume himself? upon some plants from the same region, which 
present an embryo similar to that of Barringtonia. There can now, therefore, be no 
reason for refusing the acceptance of Forster’s characters. As yet we know only the 
typical species; and it is remarkable that no one except Montrouzier appears to have 
seen the plant since Forster collected it; the only specimen of it extant, as far as Гат 
aware, is the original type, fortunately preserved in the British Museum. Sir Joseph Banks 
purchased some duplicates of Forster's plants; but no specimen of the fruit appears in 
the Banksian collection. It is therefore almost wholly from Forster’s materials that the 
following generic character has been framed, a few further particulars being furnished 
by Montrouzier. 
BanniNGTONIA, Forst. (non alior.). 
Calyx in parte adnatus, limbo magno, in alabastro oblongo, integre clauso, parallele nervoso, demum in 
lobos 2 concavos persistentes rupto. Petala 4, magna, oblonga, unguibus ad tubum staminigerum 
agglutinatis. Stamina numerosissima, pluriseriata, in tubum cylindrieum subbrevem monadelpha, et 
cum petala conjunctim caduca : filamenta subfiliformia, in estivatione spiraliter ботой; demum 
recta, dilatatim expansa, petalis longiora, colorata; anthere subparve, dorso basin versus affixe, 
ovato-rotundate, flav:e, 2-lobe, lobis adnatis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Discus epigynus, 
horizontaliter annularis, pulvinatus, margine externo tubum staminigerum fulciens, margine interno 
in eminentiam longiusculam anguste tubularem apice dentatam stylum cingentem expanso. Stylus 
subulato-teres, filamenta paullo excedens, persistens. Stigma parvum, capitato-oblongum, cavum. 
` Char. Gen. p. 75, tab. 38. Ё. a, b, c. ? Linn. fil. Suppl. p. 50. * Ibidem, p. 312. 
* Bijdr. p. 1096. * Prodr, iii. 288. * In Van Houtte, Fl. Serr. vii. p. 24. 
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