200 Dr. Francis Hamilton's Commentary 



cordingly yellow flowers ; nor have I seen one which had scarlet 

 flowers as described by Rheede. 



Burman the elder, when he published the Thesaurus Zey- 

 lanicus (165.), united the Belilla with his Miissanda Zeylanica, 

 jlore rubro, fruclu oblongo poh/spermo, folio ex jlorum thyrso 

 prodeunte albo : but although the flowers of this, like those of 

 Rheede, are red, the white leaf of the corymbus does not pro- 

 ceed from an enlarged division of the calyx, but is one of the 

 bractea^. This, therefore, must be a different species from the 

 Belilla of Rheede, as well as from both those of Rumphius, 

 with which Burman unites it. It would also seem to be diffe- 

 rent from the plant of Ray, which Burman also quotes, and 

 which is described as " Mussanda, arbor Indica, floribus in 

 summis ramulis veluti in fasciculos dispositis, e quorum medio 

 surgit folium latum, singulare, flavicans." Now the yellow 

 colour distinguishes this plant of Ray from all the species of 

 Mussanda yet mentioned ; and that it was not an accidental tinge 

 communicated to a dried specimen seen hj Ray, as might have 

 been supposed, we may infer from the account given of the Mus- 

 sanda of Hermann (quoted also by Burman), who described from 

 the living plant : " Folium, quod ex florum thyrso prodit, dif- 

 fert a ceteris, estque coloris luteo-virescentis." Burman indeed 

 elsewhere {p. 166.) says of these bracte<E ; " color in his albus, 

 vel flavescens :" so that if they are liable to this variation, the 

 plant of Ray and Hermann may be the same with that of Bur- 

 man : but I suspect that he merely says this to reconcile Ray's 

 account with his own ; a manner of obviating difliculties not I 

 believe uncommon with more accurate botanists than he was. 

 "■ Burman seems indeed to have often quoted, as synonymous, 

 plants which he only considered as belonging to the same genus 

 with what he was describing : for although he quotes the Belilla, 

 he is at pains to point out essential differences between it and his 



plant : 



