188 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



Phyllanthus niruri, Linn. 



Phyllanthus niruri, Linn. ; Miq., Fl. Ind. Bat., i. 2, p. 369 ; Mann in Proc. Arner. Acad., vii. p. 203 ; 

 Rumph., Herb. Amb., vi. t. 17. 



Timor Laut. — Very widely dispersed in warm countries, though not recorded from 

 Australia, nor included in Seemann's Flora Vitiensis. It is an annual, and its present wide 

 area is doubtless partly due to conveyance with the seeds of cultivated plants. 



Phyllanthus diversifolius, Miq. var. ? 



Phyllanthus diversifolius, Miq. var.? Miq., Fl. Ind. Bat. Suppl., i. p. 448; Mull. Arg. in DC. 

 Prodr., xv. 2, p. 297. 



Timor Laut. — India and throughout the Archipelago. Fragments of several other 

 species of this genus are before us from Arrou, Timor Laut, and other islands. Altogether 

 there are upwards of 400 species, which are very widely dispersed in warm and temperate 

 regions, excluding Europe and Asiatic Bussia, and some other parts ; and relatively rare 

 in all temperate regions. In Polynesia, according to Seemann, loc. cit., one-third of all 

 the Euphorbiacese known in his time belonged to Phyllanthus, and he enumerates no fewer 

 than twenty-seven from New Caledonia. 



Securinega sp. ? 



Timor Laut. — Securinega is a genus of about eight shrubby species, widely scattered 

 in Tropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. 



Breynia fruticosa, Benth. et Hook. f. 



Breynia fruticosa, Bcnth. et Hook, f., Gen. Plant., iii. p. 277. 

 Melanthesopsis fruticosa, Mull. Arg. in DC. Prodr., xv. 2, p. 437. 



Timor Laut. — China to Borneo, according to Midler. This genus comprises about a 

 dozen species spread over Tropical Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific Islands. 



Jatropha curcas, Linn. 



Jatropha curcas, Linn.; DC, Prodr., xv. 2, p. 1080; Miq., Fl. Ind. Bat., i. 2, p. 392; Dene., 

 Herb. Timor. Descr., p. 159; Griseb., Fl. Brit. W. Ind., p. 36 ; Soem., Fl. Vit., p. 230. 



Maru. — A native of Tropical America commonly cultivated in other warm countries, 

 and now widely naturalised. Miquel states that it is universally planted in Java, up to 

 an elevation of 5000 feet ; he also mentions that it was planted in Timor. Seemann 

 records it from the Tongan Islands, and adds, that it had been introduced thence into 

 the Fiji Islands. It is the "Physic-nut plant," and is commonly cultivated for the sake 

 of the purgative oil afforded by its seeds. Jatrojiha numbers nearly seventy species, 

 spread over the warmer regions of the earth, but by far most numerous in America. 



