on the Hortus Malabaricns, Part tl. 231 



father Rhamnus Vitis Idcea, and added to his sj^nonyma the plant 

 of Breynius, which Commeline and Pkikenet conjectured to be 

 the iS'iruri. He omitted with great propriety that of Sloane. 

 The Rhamnus Vitis Idaa continued undisturbed, until Retzius, 

 probably from the notes of Koenig, described a plant, which he 

 took to be the same with the Rhamnus, and called it Phyllanthns 

 Khamnoides {Enc. Meth. v. 298.). Although M. Poiret admits 

 this identity, yet I have no doubt of both authors having been 

 mistaken ; for the stem of this Phyllanthus is only " un peu fru- 

 tescente, glabre, et divisee en rameaux glabres. Dans les fleurs 

 males, les calices sont tronques. Le fruit est une capsule." 

 But in the Rhamnus zeylanicits of Burman, " Rami subhirsuti ; 

 tlosculus tetrapetalus ; bacca nigra ;" and in the JSJiruri, "frutex 

 altitudine septem vel octo pedum, rami tenuiter pilosi ; flores 

 constantes quinque foliis rotundis ; fructus forma piano rotun- 

 dioli, intus' cum maturi sunt succo aqueo cajruleo repleti. In 

 hisce parva semina, quae angusta sunt, continentur." The Phyl- 

 lanthus rhamnoides therefore is neither the Rhamnus Vitis Idaa of 

 the younger Burman, that is, the Rhamnus zeylanicus of his father, 

 nor the Niruri, so nearly allied to it, which is the plant of Brey- 

 nius, that has been also quoted for the Phyllanthus Vitis Id<Ea. 



Willdenow, {Sp. PI. iv, 580.) however, for the Phijllanthus 

 rhamnoides quotes the plant described by Retzius ; and in the 

 Encyclopidie Mithodique, the Rhamnus Vitis Idaa of the younger 

 Burman, the Rhamnus zeylanicns of the elder Hurman, the Acacice 

 forte cognatus of Plukenet, and the Frutex indicus baccifer of 

 Breynius, which is the Niruri. Little dependence can however 

 be placed on his accuracy ; for, as M. Poiret justly observes 

 (Enc. Meth. Sup. iv. 408.), he had previously quoted (Sp. PL i. 

 1102.) both the Rhamnus zeylanicus and the AcacicE forte cogna, 

 tus for the Zizyphus or Rhamnus lineatus, which the latter may 

 be, although M. Poiret, on comparing specimens, thinks that 



the 



