Memspermum. DIOECIA HEXANDRIA, 807 
1. M. Columba. R. 
Herbaceous, twining, hairy. Leaves sub-rotand, five-lob- 
ed; lobes acuminate. JMale panicles axillary, drooping. 
Anthers four-celled. 
Columbo, &e, Asiat. Res, x. p. 385. 
Radix Colomba. MW. M. Murray, iii, 333. 
A native of the east coast of Africa in the vicinity of Oiba 
and Mozambique. One male plant blossomed during the 
hot season of 1807 in the garden of the late Dr. James An- 
derson at Madras, and from it Dr. A. Berry took the descrip- 
tion which is published in the tenth volume of the Asiatic 
Researches. A fresh offset from the root of that plant was 
obtained for the Botanic garden at Calcutta, where it was 
planted in August 1807, and now, August 18]2, it remains 
perfectly fresh, but has never thrown out even a single bud, or 
shown any tendency to vegetate. However, in April of the 
same year 1812 Dr. Berry brought with him from the late 
Dr. Anderson’s garden at Madras, the original reot, and se- 
veral of its offsets, which he presented to the Botanic 
garden, They were immediately put into the ground, and in 
the course of a couple of months they threw out their hairy, 
herbaceous shoots to an extent of several fathoms, and blos- 
somed most abundantly during the rainy season. The whole, 
as they now appear, agree well with Dr, Berry’s original de- 
scription; only I should rather be inclined to call the inflores- 
cence a drooping panicle, than a compound racexe, In the 
- months of November and December the whole perished down 
to the root; which on examination, had not only gained eon- 
siderably in size but each had thrown out, during the sea- 
son, several pretty large, fusiform tubers, not unlike yellow 
carrots, the largest of them was eleven inches in ‘cireumfer- 
ha and siete inches long. De 
Ay M. Cnneten Willd. iv. 825, Gert. Sem. i. 219. ti 10. 
- Perennial, twining, er Leaves cordate, base trun- 
cate, firm and lucid. ecg Seti =) 1g Sees 
