1179. Campanula fulgens, (Wall) stem 



erect, about a foot high, hairy : leaves lanceolate acu- 

 minated at both ends, short petioled, serrated ^flowers 

 subsessile, axillary solitary or three toi/ether, approxi- 

 mated towards the apex ; lobes of the calvx subulate 

 erect entire, about the length of the in fundi buliform 



glabrous corolla.— D. C. Prod, 7^ p. 477. 



Neil^herries, on grassy slopes and pastures, freu 

 quent. I have another form, apparently, of this plant 

 with the flowers congested into a capitiilurn. Flow** 

 erin^ season June and July during the rains but not 

 confined to that season as it may be found in flower at 

 nearly all seasons. The Neilgherry plant seems to 

 differ from the Bengal one in the calyx being consi- 

 derably shorter than the corolla, which leads to the 

 suspicion of its being a distinct species though, from 

 its agreeing so well with the character in other re* 

 spects, I cannot venture on giving it a new name. 



Vaccimu: 



f 



ttiatis not necessary, as a transverse section ofaneaf-r 



ly mature fruit almost always presents the appearance 

 of 10 cells with one seed in each, and I feel nearly 

 certain that an examination of the ovary will shew 

 that but few of Dunal's 2S species have it 10 ceiled 

 With a single ovule in each. G. dependens, an au- 

 thentic specimen of which was most obligingly com- 

 municated to me by Mr. Gardner of Ceylon, has a 4 

 celled ovary with numerous ovules and is in fact a spe- 

 cies Vaccinium with very short anther tubes. 



Whether Ceratostema can be kept distinct lam 

 unable to say, but, judging from the really essential 

 points of the character, apart from the numerous non-* 

 essential ones introduced by Dunal, I think not. 

 Thibaudia has one good distinguishing mark in the 

 union of the filaments between themselves and their 



attachment to the base of the corolla. But if that is 

 to be taken as the essential character of the genus, 

 then both Macleanea and Anthopterus should be 

 associated as sub'-genera, the collateral marks derived 



T* -1'- " u f.i. /-i J TT* . . from the calyx and corolla being scarcely of ereneric 



Dunal, m his monaRraph of the Order Vaccinias, value in a familv where thesP nr,r^n« uJ «^ .t\-M. 



retains Agapetes and Thibaudia, Endlicher, Miesner, 

 and Lindley unite them. Kunth is followed by Mies- 

 lier in expressing a doubt as to whether Ceratostema 

 is distinct from Thibaudia, and Hooker states that he 

 " cannot understand what are the essential distin*' 

 guishing marks between them/' Among the follow- 

 ing are species which have been referred by different 

 Botanists to Ceratostema, Agapetes, Thibaudia, 

 Gaylussacla and Vaccinium, To determine among so 

 many genera it became indispensable to examine the 

 characters of all with much care. After the closest 

 scrutiny and careful dissection of the flowers of all 

 the Indian species in my collection side by side 

 with several acknowledged Vaccinia from both Ame- 

 rica and Europe^ I found it utterly impossible, from the 

 characters given, to make out more than one genus 

 among the Asiatic ones,the structure being the same in 

 all. By Roxburgh these would perhaps have been all 

 referred to Ceratostema, Wallich refers them to Thi^ 

 haudia while Don and Dunal form the gen\x% Agapetes 

 for their reception. Had long tubular flowers been a 

 constant feature, I might on that account, aided by 

 geographical distribution, have followed these authors, 

 and, assuming that as its essential character, kept up 

 their genus. This however is far from being the 

 case, and therefore as a generic character is useless. 

 And on turning to Dunal's character of Vaccinium, I 

 find the corolla described as " campanulata, urcola-^ 



ta vel cylindrica," 



In all the Indian ones it is either urceolate or 

 cylindrical. He describes the stamens as " limbo 

 calycis inserta/' which is the case in all the Indian 

 ones T have examined, and the fruit "Baceacalyce 

 vestita globosa 4 aut 5 locularis loculis polyspermis, 

 rarissime 10 locularis loculis monosperrais" which, 

 except the last clause, is equally applicable to the fruit 

 of all I have had an opportunity of examining. The 

 ovary, unfortunately, is not referred to in the character 

 of either genus. The concluding clause of the cha- 

 racter may perhaps account for Professor Lind- 

 ley*s referring one of the species to Gayhissacia,v^\i\c\\r 

 while that clause remains as part of the character of 

 Vaccinivm, seems scarcely a distinct genus, the fruit 

 having 10 cells with 1 seed in each being its essentially 

 distinguishing mark. In all other points Dunars cha- 

 racters of the 2 genera are nearly word for word the 

 same, and the abortion of all the ovules but 2 in each 

 of the 5 cells converts Vaccinium into Gayhissacia 

 and, unless care la bestowed in the examination, even 



value in a family where these organs are so variable. 



Influenced by such considerations I have without 

 hesitation referred all the Indian species to Vac ci7iL 

 nm with the sub-generic appellation Agapetes lo' mark 

 their Asiatic origin. The following I consider the 

 correct characters of the genus, and would view all 

 species in which they meet as genuine species. 



Calyxradherent, limb 4-5 lobed. Corolla tubular 4.5 

 cleft. Stamens 8-10 epigynous, anthers adnate, 2 

 celled often furnished with 2 bristles on the back, 

 the cells ending in a tube open at the apex. Ovary 4-5 

 celled, placentas ascending, usually, bearing the ovules 

 on the margin. Berry 4-5 celled, often spuriously 10 

 celled through the adherence of the v/alls to the thick- 

 ened placentas. Seed several in each cell testa cori- 

 aceous or samewhat bony : albumen fleshy : embryo 

 orthotropus, radicle next the hilum. 



Trees shrubs, &c. kc. 



According to this character it is of no moment 

 whether the lobes of the calyx are large or small, 

 whether the corolla is long or short, thick or thin : 

 the anthers may or may not be bristled, but are al- 

 ways expected to have the cells more or less prolonged 

 into tubes, and to have the number of cells of the 

 ovary equal to those of the lobes of the calyx and 

 corolla, with, more or less distinctly, free ascending 

 placentas and a plurality of ovules. Such is the genus 

 Vaccinivm as understood by me when naming the 

 following and several other still unpublished species 

 in my herbarium. 



1180. Vaccinium (Agapetes) Walm^hta- 

 NUM (R. W.) leaves subsessile, lanceolate acuminate, 

 entire glabrous, congested towards the ends of the 

 ramuli : racemes axillary, erect, shorter than the leaves ; 

 flowers tubular, drooping, and with the pedicels and 

 calyx sprinkled with longish hairs ; pedicels dilated 

 cup shaped at the apex: anthers rough, without bris- 

 tles, endinflf in two long tubes cohering nearly half 

 their length: stigma dilated. 



Selhet? lam indebted to Dr. AVallich for the 

 specimen from which this drawnng was made, but 

 without station or name, I have therefore dedicated it 

 to him. The leaves are from 2 to 3 inches long, and 

 about one broad, the flowers dark pink about an inch. 

 In some points it seems to correspond with Rox- 

 burgh's Ceratostema variegata, but judging from 



Roylc's figures of that species, is certainly distinct if 

 his 13 the true plant. 



3 



