here, t now feel nearly certain that I have one of 

 two additional species among my specimens; but 

 which were overlooked when selecting specimens for 

 representation, simply because at that time I had 

 not sufficiently mastered their specific distinctions, and 

 being then on the point of leaving home for some 

 weeks, had not leisure to study the order. 



species for another, I might have found better speci- 

 mens for some of <he Neilgherry species, but pre- 

 ferred accuracy to appearance. And yet, strange as 

 it may appear, even under these circumstances I do 

 not feel sure that at least one error has not been fallen 



into, that is, I now begin to suspect that the speci- 



^ mens of D. Wightii include two species, and that the 



one selected for representation is not that from which 



the author's character and description were taken. Up 

 to the time of writing this note (4th December 

 1851), I have not been able to satisfy myself on the 



a monograph of the whole order, in which he has subject, but I hope, before passing the printed sheets 



through the press, to have done so, when a note, if 



In 1846, when Liiidley published his "Vegetable 

 Kingdom," the numbers described were 9 genera and 

 23 species. In February 1849 Tulasne published 



( Annales des Sciances Naturelles^ Sd series, vol. 11) 



raised the numbers to 20 genera and 73 species. 



In tlie following plates I have adopted the names 

 of that monograpli and propose now, in like manner, 

 adopting his specific characters. 



In Jidy 1 846, the late ]VIi-. Gardner of Ceylon 

 published in the Calcutta Journal of Natural History, 

 characters and descriptions of 9 Indian species, and 

 then sent specimens of them to Europe, and also gave 

 me a set. The specimens sent to Europe were placed 

 in the hands of M. Tulasne, and he has republished 

 them under Gardner's names, but with his own spe- 

 cific characters; evidently before he had seen Gard- 

 ner's paper in the Indian Journal. 



Being thus in possession of authentic materials, 

 I took Gardner's named specimens as the basis of 

 my figures and for the characters have given both 

 Tulasne's and his. Had time permitted me ade- 

 quately to study the order, so as to feel certain of 

 not falling into errors, by ignorantly substituting one 



required, will give the result. [P. S, Expected spe- 

 cimens have not yet arrived.] 



It will perhaps be observed imder the genera Hy- 

 drobryum and Tidasnea that the term Rhizoma is used 

 for the part that in previous characters had been 

 called fronds and stems. I cannot myself see the neces- 

 sity for this change of terms, but feeling certain that 

 confusion and difficulty are apt to be generated when 

 two parties, describing the same thing, use different 

 language, I have, simply to guard against that, adopt- 

 ed Tulasne's term, even though I do not think it ne- 

 cessary. 



To render this account of the order more perfect, 

 and under the conviction that many more species will 

 yet be found in India, I subjoin Tulasne's Conspectus 

 Generum^ exhibiting a beautiful specimen of the di- 



chotomous method of analysis for discovering the 

 genus of any plant of this order we may have 

 xmder examination. 



f dioicis 

 (Tribus 1.) 



OS 



& 



s 



5 



o 





faequalibus; 

 j (Sect. 1.) 

 I androcei ; ■ 



I verticUlis » 



OQ 



C 



achlamy- 

 dels 

 (swbtrib- 1. 



fructus 

 valvis : 



I 



I 



I 



an- 

 drogy 



nis;* 



(Tri- 

 i^bus 11 



i 



in <'£ quail- 



bus; 

 (Sect. 2.) 

 ^ capsula ; 



Gomple- 

 tis ; 



capsula; 



incom- 



pleti8 ; 



capsula 



CONSPECTUS GENERUM. 



2-locul. ; 

 fitam. : 



A • 



* « 



Genera- 



1 . BydrostackySy Pet. Th 



f costata ; 

 nervis : 



f staminibusliberis. Z-Motireta^ AubK 

 floribus race- < 



fequalibus; Jmosis. (stam. monadelphis 3, iacw, LindK 



floribus radicalibus. 



« * 



inaequalibus 



^^le\i 

 flevi 



I 



■ * 



• ■ 



* » • 



V * 



4. Maraihruin^ H. et B. 



5. RhyncholaciSy f . 



7. Ligea, t- 



liberis; 



nervosa ; 

 stami- 

 l^ nibus : 



rstigmatibus Iinearibus integris 8. Apinagia, f. 



< flat is. 



f stigm. membranaceo-dilatatis den- 9. Lopkogynef -j 



duobus ; 



monadelphis 



Hnvolucro tubuloso. . . . 



fructu < 



costato ; (involucre capsulaefornii. 



fructu levi 



ff * 



* ■ 



uno ; 



Pt 



= 



(fructu costulato; anth. extrorsa, 



fructu levi ; anth. introrsa. 



chlamydeis Ctripartito 

 (subtrib.ll.) 



. per igonio : (s-phyllo 



I 



j uniloc. ; Honge monadelph. ; stigmatib. brevibus, 

 1^ staminib : (aub-liberis ; stigmatibus longisstmis, 



fstaraine 1. . . • . - • 



* * 



4 4 



• * 



stamiaib 3 



m • 



# * 



10. Dicrcea, Pet.^Th. 



11. Podostemony Rich. 



12. ITydrobryum, Endl. 



13. Mniopsis, Mart. 



14. Oserya, f , 



15. VmlUa, f. 



16. SphasrothylaXf Bisch 



17. CastclnaviOt f. 



18. rmfic^ Pet— Th. 



19. Xatrto, f . 



20 WeddelUnaj f. 



( 32 ) 



