504 ICOSANDRIA MONOGYNIA.  Lagerstroemia. 
smooth, slender twigs drooping much from the weight of 
the leaves, and still more when in flower, or seed, by the 
additional weight of the flowers, &c. general height of the 
trees when seven years old from twenty to forty feet, 
Leaves opposite, approximate, short-petioled, linear-ob- 
long, with a cordate, stem-clasping base, entire, of a firm 
consistence, smooth on both sides, with the lower side 
paler, from six to twelve inches long, and from three to 
five broad. Panicles terminal, drooping, sub-globu- 
lar. Flowers very large, from ten to forty in the panicle, 
with a rather offensive odour, Calyx divided about half 
way down, into six acute, smooth, thick, fleshy perma- 
nent segments. Petals six, oblong, obtuse ; margins curl- 
ed, considerably longer than the segments of the calyx. 
Filaments about eighty, equal, longer than the corol. 
Anthers linear, incumbent. | Germ superior, conic, six OF — 
more grooved, six or more celled, with innumerable ovu- — 
la in each, attached to the large triangularly conic recepta- 
cle, rising from the bottom of the cells and longitudinal- 
_ly to the inner edges of the partitions. The space gene- _ 
_ rally occupied by the axis being here empty. Style longer 
than the stamina, often serpentine, Stigma ovate, slightly _ 
divided into as many lobes as there are cells in the cap- _ 
sule. Capsule nearly round, of the size of a very small 
apple, with smooth, brittle, dark brown, rather thin cof- 
tex, surrounded with the permanent segments of the Ca — 
lyx, six or more celled, six or more-valved, opening from — 
the apex, partitions longitudinally attached to the mid-— 
dle of the valves, and their inner margins to the innet — 
part of the receptacles. Seeds numerous, very minute, 
linear-oblong, pedicelled, from their apex proceeds @ 
long filiform process, or wing. Integument the smallness 
of the seed prevents me from determining whether there 
is more than one, it is rather hard where the embryo © 
lodged, but both extremities are spongy. Perisper™ ae 
_ Rone or very thin, and not to be distinguished from the 
