123 



pulcherrime crispata, apice submucronulata, basi breviter 

 unguiculata. Stamina in marginem calycis tubi inserta, 

 5 petalis opposita, 5 alterna. Filamenta longiuscula, de- 

 clinata. Aniherm majusculae, oblongse, lateraliter com- 

 pressae, intense flavae, basi sensim curvatoe, apice poris 

 duobus debiscentes. Germen basi calycis accretum. 

 Stylus longus, filiformis, deorsum curvatum. Stigma 

 truncatum. Fructus : Bacca globosa, magnitudine fructus 

 Psidii Cattleyani, aurantiaca, glabra, bilocularis (fide 

 Iconis CI. Guilding,) apice saepe perianthii vestigiis co- 

 ronata. Loculi pulpo purpureo repleti et saepissime dis- 

 permi, nunc monospermi. Semina fusca, ovalia, subangu- 

 lata. Albumen nullum. Radicula ad hilum seminis versa. 



The plants to which the subject of our present description 

 is unquestionably very nearly allied, are the Moiiriri guianen- 

 sis of Aubl. [Petaloma of Sw.) and the Petaloma myrtilloides 

 of Fl. Ind. Occ. They have all the habit, and, in a great 

 measure, the fruit, too, of the MyrtacecB : but with the num- 

 ber of stamens and the structure of anthers, of the greater 

 number of Melastomece, From the Petaloma of Swartz, how- 

 ever, our plant differs remarkably in the structure of the 

 calyx. In the state of the bud there is no appearance of 

 sutures, indicating where the calyx will open, the whole bud 

 having the appearance, upon a large scale, of the capsule of 

 the genus Phascum, among mosses. The gradual enlargement 

 and developement, however, of the Corolla, stamens and style 

 within, cause it to burst, which it does in a most irregular 

 manner, into two or three angular pieces. The petals, too, 

 differ from Petaloma, inasmuch as they are very broad towards 

 the extremity, and at the base contracted into a short claw. 



For a splendid drawing of this plant, and a complete and 

 satisfactory analysis of the parts of fructification, I am in- 

 debted to the Rev. Lansdown Guilding of St. Vincent, to 

 whom I am anxious to dedicate the genus, in testimony of 

 his great acquirements in Natural History, and of his hav- 

 ing so successfully investigated the Botany of the island in 

 which he resides. 



