Mr. J. Miers on the Tribe Colletiese. 5 



be no doubt that the gonangium in Laomedea is the homologue of 

 a hydrotheca : so that, if we admit the validity of Prof. Huxley's 

 objection, we must, on the same grounds, refrain from calling 

 by one name the polype of Tubularia, where no hydrotheca 

 exists, and that of Laomedea, which is protected by a hydro- 

 theca, — a practice which few would venture to adopt. 



II. — On the Tribe Colletiese, with some Observations on the 

 Structure of the Seed in the Family of the Rhaninacese. By 

 John Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. 



[Continued from vol. v. p. 492.] 



8. Talguenea. 



The characters of this genus have been imperfectly known, 

 but they are sufficiently distinct from all others of the Colletiece, 

 especially from Trevoa, with which it has been confounded. It 

 was originally proposed by me, in 1825, for the plant which I 

 called Talguenea costata, *after its vernacular name of Talgu6n ; 

 but Sir Wm. Hooker, in 1830, who had not then seen the fruit 

 of Trevoa, considered it to be congeneric with the latter genus ; 

 and, on the authority of Dr. Gillies, he suppressed Talguenea, 

 and placed the two typical plants as distinct species of Trevoa 

 (Bot. Misc. i. 158). The former celebrated botanist, in 1833, 

 having then seen the fruit of Trevoa, was induced to suppress 

 that genus, and to refer T, trinervis to Retamilia, and at the same 

 time (Bot. Misc. iii. 174) he first adopted the genus Talguenea 

 as I had originally proposed it. It is strange that Dr. Gillies 

 should have confounded two plants so totally distinct, as not only 

 had he ample opportunity, while he resided with me at Concon, 

 of examining them in the living state, but he also saw my draw- 

 ings, in which their characters are fully shown. Colla, claim- 

 ing the authority of Bertero, referred both Talguenea and Trevoa 

 to Colletia (Mem. Torin. 37. p. 53). The prominent charac- 

 teristic of Talguenea lies in the structure of its fruit, which con- 

 sists of an indehiscent membranaceous carcerule, surmounted 

 by its enlarged persistent style, of nearly equal length, and en- 

 closed in its entire and unchanged calyx, which is perfectly free 

 from it and about three-quarters of its length. The ovary is 

 always 3-locular, each cell having a single erect ovule, but of 

 these seldom more than one is perfected ; the fruit, however, is 

 occasionally 2-locular, or more rarely 3-celled. Among other 

 peculiarities, we see in all the axils of Talguenea a very large 

 squamose tubercle growing beneath the spines, from which issue 

 many crowded fasciculated leaves and flowers; whereas in Tre- 

 voa, as before shown, this tubercle becomes extended into an 



