on the Hortus Malabaricus, Part II. 24^9 



plenty of room for air, it runs up to be a small tree, is later of 

 flowering, and produced fruit annually for many years. In short, 

 what I have said concerning the variety of the Cotton plant in my 

 commentary on the first part of the Hortus Malabaricus*, is almost 

 entirely applicable to the Avanacoes, which, as Commeline ob- 

 serves, are both varieties of the Ricinus vulgaris of C. Bauhin. ■■ 



Plukenet, however, was not satisfied with this, but considered 

 the Cit (alba) Avanacu as different from the common kind, and 

 as being the Ricinus Americanus major caule virescente {Aim. 319.)» 

 while the Fundi Avanacu he calls Ricinus africanus maximus 

 caule geniculato rutilante {I. c). With respect to the last he may 

 be right, in so far that the Pandi Avanacu may be the same with 

 the plant he means ; but he has not attended to what Rheede 

 says respecting the Cit Avanacu, " cujus duae species sunt, una 

 cortice viridi communi, altera rubro." If, therefore, the colour 

 of the stem is to make a difference, both the species of Cit Ava- 

 nacu cannot belong to the American plant, which Plukenet 

 quotes. Although I call this an American plant, I have no 

 doubt that India is the original country of the Ricinus, and that 

 it has been carried to America as a plant highly useful : for I must 

 here observe, that very few if any plants were originally common 

 to the East and West Indies. Plukenet indeed {Aim. 111.) en- 

 tertained a contrary opinion, " Experientia enim nos docuit, 

 quamplurimas Indiae orientalis plantas etiam in America repe- 

 riri ;" and this opinion has been followed by none more than by 

 Linnaeus : but I am confident, that the spontaneous vegetable 

 productions of the two countries are totally different ; and daily 

 experience is now showing, that the plants of Sloane and Rheede, 

 which were at one time considered as tlie same, differ in some 

 remarkable circumstance. 



The elder Burman {Thes. Zeijl. 206.) joins properly the Ava- 



' ■■■'■"- * Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 492. Jt> c-^ivJ'H]}- :.:.) 



r( nacoe 



