346 CUCURBITACE. BENINCASA. 
petiole), from oblong and entire, or roundish and angled, to more or less 
deeply 3-5-lobed or sometimes palmately 5-partite, sinuate and sharply 
toothed, scabrous on the upper side, smoothish and somewhat glabrous on 
the under, somewhat coriaceous: male flowers umbelled or shortly racemose 
at the apex of a longish slender peduncle ; pedicels with a small narrow-ob- 
long bracteole about their middle : calyx campanulate : females on a different 
plant, solitary, short peduncled : berry (about the size of a pigeon’s egg) ob- 
long, slightly angled, many-sceded : seeds (size of a small cherry-stone) or- 
bicular, a little compressed, surrounded with an inconspicuously warted zone ; 
sides convex, smooth.—Wilid. sp. 4. p. 618 ; DC. prod. 3. p. 305; Spr. syst. 
3. p. 16 ; Roxb. in E. I. C. mus. tab. 470 ; Wall.! L. n. 6705 (partly) ; Wight! 
cat. n. 1122.— B. sinuosa, Wall.! L. n. 6716.—B. Rheedei, Blume ; DC. l. c. 
Momordica umbellata, Roab. f. Ind. 3. p. 710,— Rheed. Mal. 8. t. 26. 
The shape of the leaves in this plant is so variable as well to merit the ap- 
pellation given to it by Dr Wallich, “ species vere pantomorpha.” It is use- 
less to separate it into varieties, as scarcely two leaves, even on the same 
specimen, are alike. Rheede's figure represents the most simple kind, but 
we have others before us cleft nearly to the base into long narrow linear-ob- 
long segments. The appearance of the fruit is variable: its regular shape 1s 
perfectly oval, but by the abortion of seeds in the upper part we have seen it 
ovate as in Rheede’s figure ; or, by their abortion in the lower half, obovate: 
we have never observed a decided beak.—We scarcely know why Roxburgh 
placed it in Momordica: the fruit does not appear to burst open when ripe, 
nor are the seeds covered with the fleshy and juicy arillus of that genus: 1n 
habit it is often so like B. amplewicaulis that the flowers and fruit are requi- 
site to enable one to discriminate them. 
, 1078. (8) B. amplexicaulis (Lam. :) monæcious : stems glabrous: tendrils 
simple: leaves on very short petioles, or almost sessile, deeply cordate or 
sagittate at the base (the lobes much longer than the petiole), ovate or ob- 
lon ; entire or angled, mucronate, sinuate and toothed, callous-dotted and 
slightly scabrous on the upper side, glabrous and smooth on the under, some- 
what coriaceous: male flowers in an umbel at the apex of a slender peduncle 
rather shorter than the leaves ; pedicels short, without bracteoles ; calyx 
campanulate : females solitary, very short-peduncled, in the same or different 
axils from the males : berry (smaller than a hazel-nut) broadly ovate, ros- 
trate, few- (about 4-) seeded: seeds oval, thick, compressed, surround 
with a thick corky closely warted and rugose zone, the sides flattish, sprinkled 
with little tubercles.— Lam. encyel. meth: 1. p. 496 (descr. good) ; DC. prod. 
3. p. 306 ; Wight! cat. n. 1121.—B. umbellata, Wall. ! L. n. 6705. k, 1 (and 
perhaps some others).—-— Southern Provinces. 
. 1079. (9) B. epigea (Rottl.:) stem glabrous, often very flexuose at the 
joints : tendrils simple: leaves somewhat fleshy, on longish petioles, cordate, 
sometimes only obtusely angled, usually 3-lobed, densely covered on both 
sides with short bristly hairs ; lobes rounded, the lateral ones the broadest 
and slightly 2-lobed, all remotely and slightly toothed: male flowers shortly 
racemose at the apex of a long thickish peduncle; calyx campanulate: fe- 
males shortish-peduncled, solitary, in the same or different axils from the 
males: i ovate, rostrate, glabrous, few-seeded : seeds (white) compressed, 
with the sides slightly convex.— Wild, 8p. 4. p. 619 (descr. good) ; Spr. syst. 
3. p. 16; Wall.! L. n. 6709; Wight! cat. n. 1120—B. glabra, Roxb. fl. Ind. 
3. p. 725 ; in E. I. C. mus. tab*467.—B. palmata, Wall.! L. n. 6711. d. 
The description of B. epigea in De Candolle's prodromus, taken pon 
Blume, can by no means be identified with our plant. 
1080. (10) B. rostrata (Rottl.!) stems slender, hairy, or pubescent: ten- 
tils simple: leaves on longish petioles, roundish-cordate, sinuate, toothed, 
t: male flowers usually two together, pedicelled, on a slender pe^. 
