IG THALAMIFLOR^. 



well as ill most of the West India Islaiids. Tlie fruit of 

 scarcely any of the species is edible : in many, as in the Meni- 

 SPERMUM coccuLUS, (the cocculus indicus of the shops), it is 

 acrid and inebriating, and is employed for catcliing fish and 

 birds, and for destroying worms and lice. 



I. CiSSAMPELOS. 



$ Sepals 4. Petals 0. Stamens monadelphous, 

 4 or 2. — ? Sepal 1, lateral. Petal 1, situated before 

 the sepal. Ovary 1 : stigmata 3. Drupe oblique, 

 reniform : albumen : embryo long, terete, periphe- 

 ral '; radicle superior, situated at the base of the stig- 

 mata. — De Cand. 



Climbing shrubs. — Name, from kksbo; ivy, and a(i':t{ko(i the 



vine. 



1. Cissampelos Pareira. Pareira-hravay or J^elvet 



leaf. 



Leaves subpeltate subcordate ovato-orbiculate pu- 

 bescent above albido-villous beneath, ? racemes usu- 

 ally longer than the leaves, berries hispidulous. 



Swartz, Obs. 380. t. 10. f. 5.~De Cand. Si/st. I. 533. 



HAB. Common in the mountains, on fences and in thickets. 



FL. February — July. 



Twining, filiform, branched, terete, spirally striated, villous. 

 Leaves alternate, petiolate, suborbiculate, varying from ob- 

 tusely-ovate to reniform, subcordate, rounded or emarginate at 

 the apex, mucronate ; when young pubescent above, and albido- 

 villous beneath ; when old subglabrous above and pubescent 

 beneath ; nerved, reticulato-venose : petiole shorter than the 

 leaf, terete, subtomentose. — ^ Sepals 4, obovato-spathulate, ob- 

 tuse, concave, externally hairy. Nectary concave, orbiculate, 

 entire. Filament 1, in the centre of the nectary, erect, very 

 short : anthers 5, united into a capitate body, excavated in the 

 centre, opening externally along the margin by 4 horizontal 

 slits, — $ Racemes at the ends of the branches, or axillary, longer 

 than the leaves : bracteas leafy, gradually diminishing in size to 

 the end of the raceme, shortly petiolate, suborbiculate, arista- 

 to-mucronate, pubescent, with about 5 minute shortly pedicelled 

 flowers within each. Sepal solitary, unilateral, spathulate, 

 hirsute. Petal solitary, placed before and but half the length 

 of the sepal, truncated, hypogynous. Ovary ovate, villous : 

 stigmata 3. Berry globose, slightly compressed, of an orange- 

 red colour, hispidulous. 



