Dr. Walker-Arnott on Samara laeta, Linn. 365 



fastened on a separate sheet of paper has the following manuscript generic 

 character written by Linneeus on the back of the sheet: — "Calyx 4-partitus, 

 ovatus, acutuSj parvus. Cor. Petala 4, ovalia, patentia, basi. lacuna. Stam. 

 Filamenta 4, subulata, brevissima ; lacuna coroUae laciniis fossula singulis im- 

 pressa. Antherce subcordatse, corolla duplo breviores. Pistill. Germen ova- 

 tum, longitudine \ calycis, desinens in cylindrum calyce fer^ longiorem. 

 Stigma obtusum, infundibuliforme, Bacca 1-locularis, monosperma." Now, 

 as far as regards the short stamens, and almost everything except the fruit, 

 which is not present, this description applies to the specimen in question, as 

 also to the other glued to the second sheet of paper. The anthers however 

 appear solid and without pollen. With regard to the fruit, there is nothing 

 which could be so called on either specimen ; the ovary is considerably ad- 

 vanced, and in this state is not different from what is found in Myrsine: 

 there are two ovules imbedded in the upper half of a large, globose, central, 

 free placenta : I have no doubt that Linneeus described this central placenta 

 for the seed. 



Now in almost every published description of this genus the filaments are 

 said to be " elongata," and the fruit a " drupa." Even Sir J. Smith, in Rees's 

 ' Cyclopaedia,' although the generic character he there gives be in other re- 

 spects almost a literal translation of the above in the Linnean herbarium, 

 says, " Filaments 4, awl-shaped, long" and " Drupe roundish. Seed solitary." 

 This difference in the mode of describing the stamens is remarkable, and 

 might lead one to suspect that if the manuscript description were correct, the 

 published one might have been derived from the figure in Burraann's ' The- 

 saurus Zeylanicus,' tab. 31 : and perhaps the supposition that the two were 

 the same species might have influenced Linneeus to think that the stamens he 

 had previously described in manuscript had been injured, for the third speci- 

 men in the Linnean herbarium presents amongst several unexpanded flowers 

 one, and but one, with the stamens protruded and nearly twice as long as the 

 corolla. This specimen has the word "India" written under it. 



The whole six specimens agree in habit, in foliage, and nearly so in the in- 

 florescence and calyx. They differ in some respects in the corolla and stamens. 

 The Banksian (male) specimens approach more in the corolla and stamens 

 to the female plants in the Linnean herbarium, than to these parts in the 



