3UC HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. vi9 



qua! ; stnmina ver}' short, in the throat of tlie corolla ; anthers ohlenjr ; the pis- 

 tiiium has an ovate oblong germ, filiform style, aiicl obtuse stigpia ; the pericarp 

 is an acLKiiinate capsule, caveretl, two-celled, gaping at the top into two parts ; 

 partition contrary ; the seeds numerous, angular; receptacle fastened to the mid- 

 dle of the partition. One species w,i's discovered in this island by Swartz. 



F.LONGATA. 



Leaves entire, opposite ; calyxes somewhat hairy, longer than the fruit. Siv, 

 Py. p. 92, 



BUCK THORN. RIIAxMNUS. 



Ci,. 5, OR. 1. Pentandriamonogynia. Nat. or. Dimiosm. 

 This is derived from the Latin name of a plant in Pliny. 



'Gen. CH\R. There is no calyx ; corolla an imperforatt^ petal, externally rude, in^ 

 teroally coloured, funnel form ; tube turbinate, cylindrical ; border spreading, 

 divided, acute; scalelets five, very small, each at the base of each division of the 

 border, converging ; the stamens ai'e filaments, as many as there are segments of 

 the corolla, awl-shaped, inserted into the petal under the scalelet ; anthers small ; 

 the pistil iias a roundish germ, filiform style, the length of the stamens, stigma 

 blunt, divided into lewer segments than the corolla ; the pericarp is a roundish 

 berry, naked, divided into fewer parts internally than the corolla ; seeds solitary, 



roundish, gibbous on one side. Batted on the other. Schrober says that part of 

 the flower called the corolla is more properly tlie perianth, and the st'uleiets should 

 bu named petals. Four species are indigenous to this island. 



' J. COLUBRINCS. SNAKE. 



Arhorens foliis ovatis venosis, capsulis spheric is in ferns ad medietafem 

 caliptratis, pedunculisumbellulatis alariiuSj-corHce g-labro. Browne, 

 p. 172. 



Flowers hermaphrodite, one styled, erect; capsules tricoccous; petioles fer- 

 ruginous-tomentose. 

 This is a small upright tree, with most of the branches spreading out horizontally. 



*rhe twigs, petioles, peduncles, lower surface of the leaves, and outer surface of the 

 calyx, are covered with a feiruginous nap. The leaves are oblong-ovato, acute, entire, 

 the upper surface smooth and shining, alternate, for the most part distich ; raceiries 

 short, corymbed, axdlary, seven-flowered or thereabouts ; flowers without scent, all 



pointing upwards, with greenish scales ; calyx deeply five-clelt ; anthers standing out 

 beyond" the scales ; style single, ending in a trifid stigma; capsule roundish, three- 

 grooved, three-cellecl, ihrec-valved ; tiie valves opening two v/ays at the top ; seeds 

 solitary, rountlisli, flatted a little, emarginate, black, and very shining. In high 

 mountain woods it attains the.hcight of twenty feet, while in coppices on the coast it is 

 rarely seven feet high, with leaves four inches long ; whereas in the former they arc 

 six inches in length. In the island of Martinico the French know it by the name of 6o:s 



^conhimrCf or snake wood. 1'he bark is of a pleasant bitter taste, 



2. SARCOMPHAI.irS, 



