ftucAtt flORTUS JAMAICENSIft * 



The large climbing birthwort, with variegated flowers, or the poisoned hogmeat, is 

 verytcommrm in St. Ann's, and 'bears very large fio-crs, the opening of which con- 

 tinues glued up longitudinally for a considerable time. Browne. 



This plant propagates itself by slender jointed stems, which are round, smooth, and 

 hardly thicker than a goose quill. From the joints are protruded many long slende* 

 fibres, penetrating the earth in a perpendicular direction ; from them likewise are pro- 

 duced many climbing stems of the same size r on which the large cordated leaves are 

 placed alternately. The flowers are produced from the wings of the leaves singly', 

 depending hy short peduncles, which terminate in small concave or.tte involucres, from 

 the centre of which the germens arise, penetrating through the involucres, where it 

 joins the peduncles; the germ is subulated, slender, and hexagonal, indented with 

 six furrows. The flower is of a very singular structure, and ought to constitute a new 

 genus, at least it has as much right to do so, and more, than the ipomva has to be 

 seperated from convolvulus. The flov\er is not less remarkable for its extraordinary 

 size. than its abominable scent, which ft diffuses all around. The tube is nearly nine 

 inches in length, recurved or bent back, so that the upper part leans upon the basf, 

 which is three inches and three-quarters in length, and its greatest breadth one inch 

 and five-eighths. Its form is oblong, compressed on the sides, ventricose, gibbous be- 

 hind, concave before, pentagonal, narrowing toward the end*; with five- carinat 1 

 angles in ribs, from which arise many reticulated veins, which, with the angles, are 

 commonly purple. The middle part of the tube is two inches and a half in lengtb ; it 

 is much narrower than the b; se, concave, and flatted on its upper part, but gibbous 

 and convex on the outside, coloured and ribbed like the base, but less eminent. These 

 two parts being seperated by cutting, there is seen opening into the base a short com- 

 pressed tube, whose margins are erecto- patent and fimbriated, it takes its rise from a 

 septum or partition, which seperates or divides the base from the mid lie part The 

 upper part of the tube, which forms die rictus or- awn, is ventricose, much wider than 

 the rest of the tube,- of a sub-ovate depressed form, its greatest length oeing equal to 

 the middle part, but on the opposite side much shorter ; it terminates in a broad mar- 

 gin or border, forming an ovate aperture.".-. The limb is patent, concave, cordated, 

 terminating in a very long appendix or tail ; it is supported and decorated by twenty 

 large nerves or rays, eminent on the outside, and terminating in as many denticles in 

 the margin ; the length of the limb, the tail included, is twenty inches, and its breadtfa 

 above six. The limb is elegantly variegated with white an.l purple on the inside ; the 

 space of the ribs is distinguished by white or yellow streaks, and the int nnediate 

 spaces somewhat like irregular asterisks of purple, in a white or yellow ground. These 

 flowers differ very much in- the deepness and paleness of their colouring, and also iri 

 the mode of variegation, so that no two flowers can be found alike. The inside of the 

 tube is hairy more or less in all its parts, but the base most so. There are six yellow 

 anthers adhering to the style. The pods are about three inches long and one broad, 

 and differ not in any respect from the rest of this genus. Ah the parts of this plant arc 

 absminably foetid, and detested and shunned by most animals. When hogs venture to 

 rat them, through necessity, they are said to be destroyed by them ; yet it is said, that 

 .be leaves and Sower*, bruised and applied to parts afflicted with great pain, afford^ 

 <tettsk relief. 

 Set CONTRAYERVA, 



