'236 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities 



ZEPHYRA. 



SysL Linn. TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA ! 

 Ord. Nat. ASPHODELE^E, Br. Tnb. 3. CoNANTHEREiE, Nobis. 



Perianthium semisuperum, monophyllum, subhypocrateriforme, coloratum, de- 

 ciduuni: tubo cylindraceo, basi circumcissa, pariim dilatata: limbo 6-partito, 

 patent! : segmentis elliptico-oblongis, 7-nerviis (nervis plerumque ra- 

 mosis) ; exterioribm pauUb angustioribus, mucronulo tuberculiformi papil- 

 loso apiculatis. Stamina 6, fauci perianthii inserta ; 2 longiora, sterilia ! 

 filamenta compressa, glabra : antherm ovato-oblongje, apice obtusse, inap- 

 pendiculatjie, valvulis licet longitudinaliter solutis e foraminibus 2 termi- 

 nalibus tantum pollen efFundentibus ; loculo altero (interiore) basi in cor- 

 niculum brevissimum producto. Ovarium 3-loculare: ovulis pluribus. 

 Styliis tenuis. Stigma punctum pruinosum. Capsulam maturam non- 

 dum vidi. 



Herba (Peruviana) ^fe^a/w. Rhizoma bulbo-tuber? Caules erecti, ramosi, glabri^ 

 nudiusculi^ basi rudimentis scariosis membranaceis foliorum imperfecte evolu- 

 torum obvoluti, palmares. Folia radicalia mihi ignota ; caulina paucissima^ 

 rudimenfaria, lineari-lanceolatay acuminata^ canaliculata^ nervosa, glabra, 

 plerumque adpressa, vix uncialia. Flores numerosi, paniculati, azurei. Pe- 

 dicelli simplicissimi, Jiliformes, summo apice dUatato cum perianthio articulati. 

 Bracteolae subulates, virides, pedicellis breviores. Perianthium 10 lin£as 

 longum. 

 1. Z. elegans. 

 Hab. In Peruvise provincia australiori Tarapacensi ad Lomas de Iquique. 

 D. Bollaert. 11. Vulgb Flor de Viuda. (V. s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.) 



This interesting genus accords entirely in habit and in the struc- 

 ture of its perianthium with Cummingia, from which it is, how- 

 ever, essentially distinguished by the circumstance of two of the 

 stamens being sterile, and the absence of the membranous points 

 from the anthers, one of the cells of which is developed at the 

 base into a short spur-like process. The specimens whence the 

 above description was derived, formed part of a small but valuable 

 collection of plants made by Mr Bollaert, formerly chemical as- 

 sistant at the Royal Institution, in the course of his travels in 

 the interior of Peru. The singular circumstance of two of the 

 stflmens being sterile, leaving four fertile, is worthy of particu- 

 lar notice, as forming a remarkable exception to the law of de- 

 velopment of organs among the MonocotyledoneeE. 



PASITHEA. 



Syst. Linn. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



Ord. Nut. ASPHODELA^, Br. Tnb. 3. Conaxthere^, Nobis. 



Perianthium omnin5 superum ! profunde 6-partitum : foliolis inaequilateri- 

 oblongis, mucronulo subcucullato, papilloso apiculatis, 3-nerviis ; interiori- 

 bus latioribus. Stamirui 6, basi corollae inserta : filamenta subulata, com- 

 planata, glabra : antherte lineares, incumbentes ! biloculares : loctiiis paral- 



