14 ILLUSTRATIONS OF 



161 ; Spr. Syst. Veg. i. 696; — caule arborescente j foliis ova- 

 tis, subaugalatis, subtus lanatis ; floribus ^olitariis.— Mexico. . 



This species is excluded by Nees (Linn. vi. 483) from Physalis, 

 and considered by him as altogether distinct from the foregoing. 

 From the above short character it is impossible to come to any 

 decided opinion on the subject. 



Sabacha. 



To this genus of the ' Flora Peruviana ' I have to contribute 

 several new species. In the Prodromus of that work, p. 31, 

 tab. 34, in order to illustrate the character of Saracha, its distin- 

 guished authors selected the plant which on a former occasion 

 {huj. op. vol. i. p. 152) I proposed to detach from that ge- 

 nus, because, as it differed essentially in structure and in habit 

 from all the other species enumerated by them, it could not be 

 regarded as its type. I preferred therefore to exclude that plant 

 and retain the genus for the other several well-recognized and 

 long-established species, as it would produce much confusion and 

 answer no good purpose to make any change in their present 

 arrangement. I now proceed accordingly to modify the generic 

 character in the following manner, so as to include all the species 

 below enumerated. Before doing this I will offer a few remarks in 

 regard to the limits of this genus with respect to Physalis, Witha^ 

 ma, Capsicum, &c. on the one hand^ and Witheringia and Bra- 

 chtstus on the other. In all these instances there exists but little 



structure 



■ 



berry 



> 



ventricose calyx in Physalis and Withania, another structure of 

 fruit m Capsicum, and a more fruticose habit and different inflores- 

 cence in Witheringia and Brachistus. In Saracha the inflorescence 

 IS axillary and umbellate, the number of radiating pedicels upon 

 one single peduncle varying from 2 to 8 : in Physalis the flowers 

 are always solitary in each axil, upon a lengthened peduncle : and 

 m mthertngia, as I have Hmited that genus [ante, p. 4), the 

 flowers, though more numerous, are also upon simple peduncles • 

 m this case however the inflorescence appears to be somewhat 

 more pomplex, owing to several flowers growing out of each axil 

 at successive periods, so that they are seen in various stages of 

 development, from the nascent bud to the perfected fruit • but 

 the true normal condition is that of a solitary pedunculated 

 flower as is frequently observed in the dichotomous axils the 

 other flowers commonly aggregated with it in many of the axils 

 being in fact nothing more than a shortened and dwarf form of 

 an axillary flowering branchlet, which is often seen in a more 

 lengthened state of development. This is distinctly shown in the 



