on the Ilortus Malaharicus, Part II. 241 



united three species in one, although he seems then to have 

 learned that the Syrian kind is distinct. He adds, however, 

 greatly to the confusion respecting these plants by describing the 

 plant as herbaceous, and the leaves smooth. It is therefore pro- 

 bable, that then he had not seen the Ericu, but described from 

 the plant common in the gardens of Holland ; or at least from 

 some plant, which cannot well be any one of the three, that he 

 quotes as synonymous : but to this I shall again return. 



Rumphius, under the name Madorius {Herb. Amb. vii. 24. 

 t. 14, /. 1.), has given an excellent account of the Ericu and 

 Bel Ericu, in which he justly considers the kind with the white 

 flower as not differing from that of which the flower is purple. 

 His figure, as usual, is not so good as his description ; but, from 

 what he says of the nectarium, there can be no doubt of his 

 meaning this species. " In floris centro mira conspicitur com- 

 positio, pedem exhibens salinarii argentei, componitur nempe 

 ex quinque circinnis et superne gerit pentagonum caseolum." 

 Now the five circinni clearly describe the lower parts of the nec- 

 taria spirally re volute, which distinguish this species. The elder 

 Burman in his commentary produced nothing new. Nor did his 

 son (F/. Ind. 71.) improve the synonyma, but adopts the spe- 

 cific name A.gigantea, given by Linnaeus in the Species Plaiita- 

 rum, and leaves us completely in the dark which of the plants 

 included in the synonyma he meant to describe. He does not 

 quote the Madorius. 



M. Lamarck {Enc. Meth. i. 280.) separates the Egyptian from 

 the Indian kind, so as to make them varieties of the same spe- 

 cies, calling the former Asclepias giganiea a, and the latter A.gi- 

 gantea j8 ; but he points out no difference between the two kinds, 

 except that the flowers of the former are yellow inclining to red, 

 and in the latter of a red inclining to violet, which does not weU 

 agree with the flower of the Ericu. From his description it 



would 



