wight's BOTANICAL LETTERS. 173 



iost, and the delay has put it into my power to inform you that, 

 in accordance witli what I mentioned in a former letter, I have 

 despatched a box to your address, filled with Cryptogamic 

 plants, all except one parcel of good things, at least such as I 

 think you will esteem good. Among the rest you will find spe- 

 cimens of both species of Balanites. I have now no opportu- 

 nity of examining recent specimens, being several hundred 

 miles distant from the place^where the one grows, and the 

 station of the other is unknown to me, farther than that it is 

 not near Palamcottah. I strongly suspect that Richard is 

 right in referring the genus to Olacinece, but on this I must 

 speak with caution, as I have not, since I discovered that he 

 had done so, examined the plant with reference to that point, 

 but I will soon, as I intend sending descriptions of the two 

 species for publication in the Madras Journal, and some other 

 things at the same time, for the January number. I have a 

 short paper in the forthcoming number which I hope I shall 



have an opportunity of sending you Interruptions are 



the order of the day : in the mean time I have been thinking 

 of the Belanites, and on comparing drawings of both species 

 with characters, I now agree with you that it is badly refer- 

 red to Olacinece: it seems to associate in many respects with 

 Cyminosma, one of the Rutacece: the calyx is 5-parted, if not 5- 

 sepaJJed, petals 5, stamens 1 0, torus Jargeand Heshy, surrounded 

 hy the base of tiie ovary, which I think is 5-celled, style sim- 

 ple, short, stigma pointed, fruit drupaceous, pericarp dry and 

 brittle, sarcocarp viscid and fleshy, nut very thick and hard, 

 1-celled, 1 -seeded, seed pendulous, embryo and radicle supe- 

 rior at the apex of a large fleshy albumen. I therefore think 

 that it rather belongs to Rutacece dian to any other existing 

 order, though it might, I believe, form a suborder of it along 

 with Cyminosma, which does not associate very well in some 



points with Ruta or Peganum Amongst the plants sent, 



you will find>pecimens of a Periploceous plant marked Cryp- 

 tolepis? Wall : I was uncertain at the time I put it up, whether 

 it really^was so, but I have since laid my hands on a speci- 

 men from Waliich, from the Botanical Garden of Calcutta, and 



