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XIX. Description of Peltophyllum, a new Genus of Plants allied to Triuris 

 of Miers, with Remarks on their Affinities. By George Gardner, Esq., 

 F.L.S., 8sc. 



Read June 6th, 1843. 



About two years ago, my friend Mr. Miers communicated to the Linnean 

 Society the description of a new genus of plants from the Organ Mountains, 

 to which he gave the name of Triuris. The affinities of the single species, of 

 which he has given such excellent figures and details, appeared to him, as they 

 well might, to be rather dubious, although at the same time he felt no hesita- 

 tion in referring it to the Endogenous division of the vegetable kingdom. It 

 is not a little curious, that, within a day or two of the time at which Mr. 

 Miers presented his paper to be read, I should have found, at a distance of 

 nearly 2000 miles from the Organ Mountains, a little plant closely allied to 

 Triuris, and one whose structure enables us with little difficulty to refer them 

 both to their true position among other plants. 



The little plant found by me bears a very great resemblance in general ap- 

 pearance to that of Mr. Miers ; but I think that there are sufficient grounds 

 for considering it as belonging to a distinct genus. I unfortunately possess 

 only pistiUiferous plants. These, however, differ in their structure in several 

 respects from that of Triuris. In the latter the perigonium has only three 

 divisions, while in my plant there are six ; and, moreover, they differ in their 

 anatomical structure. I have before me, while I write, a segment of each, 

 well moistened and placed side by side in the field of the microscope. They 

 both terminate in a subulate tail-like extremity, and in aestivation these are 

 in both instances involute, that is, folded up within the lower and broader 

 portion of the segments. At the place where the folding in of the segment 

 takes place in Triuris, there is externally an opening or pore, well repre- 

 sented by Mr. Miers at fig. 7- of the plate which illustrates his paper, and of 

 the drawing which he has so obligingly executed to illustrate mine. This 



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