128 Mr. J. Miers on the Affinities of the Olacacese. 



base of the shoot to the panicle, purplish yellow, declining, their 

 base enlarged and compressed. Leaves ternate or quinate, a 

 little pilose above, scarcely paler but much more pilose beneath, 

 doubly dentate; lower leaflets oval cuspidate, shortly stalked; 

 intermediate and terminal leaflets obovate cuspidate ; on the ter- 

 nate leaves the leaflets are nearly equal, broader and rounder, 

 the lower pair being lobed on the external edge below. Petioles 

 and midribs with many strong compressed but often rather small 

 hooked prickles. Stipules linear-lanceolate. Panicle long, leafy 

 often quite to the top, lax, hairy, scarcely tomentose, with very 

 short setae hidden amongst the hairs ; rachis wavy {i. e. forming 

 an angle at the origin of each leaf) ; branches mostly axillary, 

 ascending, shorter than their leaves, racemose-corymbose; ter- 

 minal flower of the panicle nearly sessile, the others shortly 

 stalked. Sepals oblong, with a long narrow leaflike point, green- 

 ish, hairy, tomentose, setose, with a few aciculi, whiter within, 

 loosely reflexed from the fruit. Petals oblong, clawed. I have 

 not seen the fresh fruit which seems to be small. 



Woods and hedges. Near Twycross on the Appleby road ; 

 near Ashby de la Zouch; and between Loughborough and 

 Wymesmold ; all in Leicestershire, Rev, A. Bloxam. Almond 

 Park near Shrewsbury, Rev. W. A. Leighton. 



This species was long considered by Mr. Bloxam as the true 

 R. syhaticus (W. & N.), but the plant of those authors seems 

 probably to be a state of R. villicaulis. He has therefore given 

 a new name to this species, derived from its barren stem becoming 

 as it were bald at an early period. It does not much resemble 

 R. villicaulis either in appearance or characters, and its true po- 

 sition in the genus is perhaps still to be decided. 



XII. — Observations on the Affinities of the Olacacese. 

 By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. 



[Continued from vol. viii. p. 184.] 



Before proceeding further, I will here correct an error inad- 

 vertently made in regard to the relations of the HumiriacecE {ante^ 

 vol. viii. p. 165), which was not noticed till after the preceding 

 " Remarks on the Aflinities of the Olacacece " were printed : in 

 stating there that '^^the HumiriacecB present a more manifest 

 affinity with the SymplocaceiB,^' it should have been said, with 

 the Styracea. This renders it necessaiy that I should explain 

 the reasons upon which such an opinion is founded. The struc- 

 ture of the ovarium of Humirium will be seen to be very similar 

 to that I have described as existing in the StyracecB (loc. cit. 

 p. 163), with this difference, that the junction of the partitions 



