a new Genus o/'Compositse. 25 



minulae, ramorum apicem attingentes ibique confluentes. Pappus setaceus bi-serialis 

 sordide luteus, coroUuJis paulo brevior, setis subaequalibus, plumosis, basi sublamellifor- 

 mibus, ternatim quaternatimve cohaerentibus et in annulum ab ovario solubilem deci- 

 duum concretis. Achfenium anguste obovatum, infeme attenuatum, glabrum, medio 

 crassum, hinc a dorso ad margines paululum attenuatum, plerumque plus minus arcua- 

 tum, apice nectario brevi styliformi, et margine membranaceo parum prominulo lacero 

 coronatum, basi areola terminali instructum, 3-4 lineas longum, 1^ latum. Integu- 

 mentum exterius (perlcarpicum) nitidiusculum griseo-spadiceum ; intimum (endo- 

 pleura) diaphanum, tenue, carneum. Embryo majusculus, erectus, orthotropus, an- 

 guste oblongus, leviter ad margines arcuatus, pallide viridis ; radiculd brevi obtusa ; 

 cotyledonibus latis, planis, dorso subconvexis, sensim nee abrupte in radiculam trans- 

 euntibus. 



I have named this plant in honour of George Earl Auckland, Governor- 

 General of India, not in compliment to his rank, but as a distinction well 

 merited by his Lordship's services in the cause of Indian botany. The plant 

 was met with during a journey in Cashmeer, undertaken imder Lord Auck- 

 land's auspices ; and its value, as yielding a useful product, makes the appli- 

 cation appropriate to the useful direction of his Lordship's views in promoting 

 botanical investigation in our Indian empire. 



Aucklandia partakes of the characters of Saussurea, Dolomicea and Carlina. 

 Its technical difference from the first mainly rests on the characters of the 

 pappus, which, however, in conjunction with the habit, are sufficiently marked 

 to entitle the plant to the rank of a distinct genus. 



De CandoUe founds his distinction between Saussurea and Aplotaxis upon 

 the single row of setae in the pappus of the latter. But this ground is un- 

 tenable, as a considerable number at least of the Himalayan species have 

 really an outer row of very caducous and filiform setoe, while the inner row is 

 more permanent. These outer setae frequently disappear in the dried spe- 

 cimen, or are detected with difficulty. Probably De CandoUe has drawn his 

 inference from specimens imperfect in this respect. The fact was observed 

 and first brought to my notice by my friend Mr. M. P. Edgeworth. Lagu- 

 rostemon, which De CandoUe comprises as a section of Saussurea, seems to 

 have better claims to the rank of a distinct genus than Aplotaxis. 



The medicinal root, celebrated among the ancients under the name of Cos- 



VOt,. XIX. E 



