COLLECTED BY ME. SPKUCE. 323 



4 



male involucres, another supposed distinctive character of Spixtay are 

 present or absent in different involucres of the same species of Peridium. 

 I have particularly observed this in an unpublished Guiana species, 

 which bears in some herbaria the name of P. Boliomhirgkianum^ Kl. 

 (Eob. Schomb. last coll, n. 580 and 594, Eich. Schorab. n. 901 and 

 905). In one male involucre I found two male flowers, and one abor- 

 tive female; in another, three males and two abortive females; in two 

 others, three males in each, without any rudimentary females. The 

 stamen varied from two to five in each flower, but always more in the 

 central one than in the two lateral ones. In all, the calyx was nearly 

 as long as the filaments. 



The species contained in Mr. Spruce's collections are : 



1. P, oblongifolmm ^ from Caripi, described p. 243 of the second 

 volume of this Journal 



2. P. bicolor^ KL in Lond. Journ. Bot. vol. ii. p, 44. Of this species. 

 Spruce, as well as Schomb urgk, gathered two very distinct varieties, 

 which one would have been tempted to consider as species, but that 

 there appear to be no really constant characters to distinguish them, 

 viz, a, tomentosuMi foliis supra opacis v. vix nitidis subtus tomento 

 brevi molli squamisque lepidotis canescentibus, a tree of 14 to 16 feet; 

 British Guiana, Scliomhurg'k^ first coll. n. 114, and in the Capoeiras, 

 near Barra do Eio Negro, Spruce ; and p, nitidum, foliis coriaceis supra 

 nitidis subtus squamellis minutis lepidoto-canescentibus v. flavicantibus 

 et glandulis minutis punctatis ; British Guiana, EoL Schomhurgh^ second 

 coll. n. 685 and 686, Rich. Schomhurgk, n. 1070 and 1071 ; and Obidos, 

 on the Eio Negro, Spruce, The calyxes are very distinct in both varie- 

 ties. The involucres are white or cream-coloured when fresh. 



3, P. coccineian, sp. n. ; foliis longiuscule petiolatis oblongis subacu- 

 minatis coriaceis nitidis novellis subtus parce lepidotis demum gla- 

 bratis, involucris masculis globosis, filamentis crassis oblongis, invo- 

 lucris foemineis 6-S-floris, capsulis globosis crassis tomentosis. 

 Frutex 15-20-pedalis v. arbor parva- Folia fere P. glahrati^ 3-5- 

 poUicaria, basi cuneata. Pedicelli aggregati, petiolo breviores, apice 

 subincrassati, bracteis 2 oppositis ovato-rotundatis concavis carinatis, 

 majore fere Uneam longa. Involucra extus lepidota, in vivo coccinea, 

 mascula globosa, triflora, flore medio 4-5-andro, lateralibus 2-3- 



andris. 



!guli 



riter dentatus v. fissus. Antherce biloculares, loculis reflexis in fila- 



