400 Mr. J. Miers on the Calyceracese. 



Var. /3. serratifolia \ — foliis elliptico-lanceolatis, submembrana- 

 ceis, sinuato-serratis, dentibus calloso-mucronatis, imo integro 

 cuneatis, 5-7-nerviis, glaberrimis; caule scapiformi, solitario 

 (an semper?), monocephalo, nudo, foliis radicalibus breviore; 

 paleis integris, acutis. — In Andibus Mendozinis, v. s. in herb. 

 Hook. ; circa Casa Pintada (Gillies) . 



Folia majora, textura tenuiora, 4 poll, long., 1 poll, lat., imo 

 integra, latiora; scapus 2 poll, alt.; capitulum circa 1 poll, 

 diam. 



6. Acicarpa. 



This genus, first established by A. de Jussieu, was named~by 

 him Acicarpha *, because of the spinose lobes of its achsenia, 

 which he erroneously attributed to the growth of the palese, and 

 their accretion with the ovarium. Mr. Robert Brown first de- 

 tected this error, and showed that the spinose excrescences were 

 owing to the growth of the calycine lobes, and not of the palese ; 

 and hence he objected to the name of Acicarpha as being inad- 

 missible, suggesting in its stead the far more appropriate epithet 

 of Acicarpa f. DeCandolle and other botanists have disregarded 

 this suggestion, and have retained Jussieu's name ; but it appears 

 to me that we are bound to adopt that of Acicarpa, so long ago 

 recommended by Mr. Brown. The little difference existing 

 between this genus and Calycera has been already pointed out, 

 consisting principally in the much greater length of the excres- 

 cent calycine lobes, and in the accretion of the achsenia with 

 each other and with the receptacle ; but this last-mentioned 

 feature is not a constant character. Richard represents the 

 ovaria as being immersed within a fleshy receptacle ; this, how- 

 ever, is an erroneous view of the case : the receptacle is, in fact, 

 merely a cylindrical axile column, upon which the ovaria are 

 imposed, thus resembling an abbreviated spikelet, round which 

 the flowers are densely crowded ; from this receptacle a secretion 

 exudes, which flows between the ovaria, and finally agglutinates 

 them and all the lower portion of the spikelet into one compact 

 mass. Sometimes, however, this agglutination is only partial, 

 especially towards the middle and summit of the inflorescence ; 

 and it then occurs that many of the achsenia, perfectly mature, 

 are as free as in Calycera, which fact I have frequently observed 

 in Acicarpa tribuloides : even in the typical species the ovaria of 

 the upper florets always remain free, as Richard has described 

 them J ; but in that species these free achsenia seldom perfect 

 their seeds. In Acicarpa the calyx, which is adnate to the ova- 



* Ann. Mus. ii. p. 347. 



t Linn. Trans, xii. p. 132; Mem. Mus. vi. pi. 11 & 12. fig. b. 



X Mem. Mus. vi. 46, tab. 11 b. fig. 5. achsenia coalita, fig. 6. alia libera. 



