BENTHAM ON MIMOSE^, 323 



membranacels supra saturate viridibus subtus pallidis, peti- 

 olis glabris, spicis ovalibus obtusis 3-linearibus pedunculo 

 glabro triplo brevioribus, bracteis parvis orbicularibus pedi- 

 cellatis margine puberulis. {Klotzsch). — Sierra Parime, 

 Schomburgk. 



692. Heckeria peltata, Kunth, Linncea, v. xiii. p. 565 



Potomorphe peltata, Miguel Comment. Phytogr . fasc. n.p. 37. 

 — On tbe Rio Negro, Schomburgk^ n. 954. 



693. Micropiper pellucidum, Miguel I. c. p. 39 Piper 



pellucidum, Linn. — Sands of the Rio Negro, Schomburgk^ 

 n. 939, 



{To be continued.) 



XIV. — Notes on Mimose^e, with a short Synopsis of Spe- 

 cies. By George Bentham, Esq., F.L.S. 



On the occasion of describing the Mimoseoi of Schomburgk's 

 Guiana collection, (vol. ii. p. 127, of this work), I suggested 

 the adoption of several new genera, but had not then exam- 

 ined a sufficient number of species to define them with any 

 precision. Since that time the whole of Sello's Brazilian 

 collection of this suborder has been intrusted to me for pub- 

 lication, by the administrators of the Royal Herbarium of 

 Berlin, and I have also had opportunities of examining 

 various other sets, including the whole of this portion of Sir 

 W. J. Hooker's rich herbarium. Having subjected all the 

 materials, thus placed at my disposal, to a detailed revision, 

 J have now to offer the following notes on the genera and 

 species composing this beautiful suborder. 



Before entering however into descriptive details, some 

 preliminary explanations may be necessary, relating to some 

 of the terms used in characterizing Jlimosea', and applied 

 by different writers in different senses. Thus, for instance, 

 in describing the bipinnate leaf of most Mimosece, some of 

 the most distinguished botanists apply the term pinnce, to the 

 primary divisions of the leaf, and thatof/oZ/o/a, to the second- 

 ary or ultimate divisions, whilst others, on the contrary, call 



