Linum. pentandria pentagynia. 109 



it blossoms in April, but has never ripened its fruit in 

 Bengal. 



Trunk straig^ht, perfectly simple, about twelve feet high, 

 and eighteen inches in circumference, towards the top 

 marked with the large cicatrices of the fallen leaves, 

 otherwise perfectly smooth, and ash-coloured. Leaves 

 round the top of the plant, below the inflorescence, une- 

 qually pinnate, drooping, about six feet long. Leaflets 

 about twenty pair, opposite, subsessile, drooping, ovate- 

 lanceolate, margins waved and slightly serrate, very 

 smooth on both sides, upper surface shining ; length 

 from four to eiuht inches, and from two to three broad. 

 Petioles smooth, sharp on the upper edge, jointed at the 

 insertion of the leaves, and then much swelled. Inflo- 

 rescence, I will call it an immense terminal pannicle is- 

 suing as in Corypha umhracuUfera, from the apex 

 of the simple Papaya-\\ke stem and composed of nu- 

 ous, primary, diverging, compound branches, of from 

 three to four feet in length, while the numerous di- 

 verging branchlets thereof are from six to nine inches 

 long, and support numerous alternate diverging pedun- 

 cles of small, globular heads, of from, six to twelve small, 

 sessile, greenish, stellate flowers. Bractes minute. In- 

 volucres also very minute. Calyx superior, obscurely 

 five-toothed. Petals five, broad-lanceolate, spreading. 

 Filaments shorter than the petals, spreading. Anthers 

 ovate. Germ inferior, crowned within the insertion of 

 the petals and stamina, with a convex, grooved, coloured 

 gland ; from its centre rise the five styles, which are in 

 some degree coalesced, and shorter than the corol. Stig- 

 mas five, distinct, and simple. 



LINUM. Schreb. gen. n. 528. 



Ca/yx five-leaved. Coro^ five-petalled. Capsule su- 

 perior, from five to six-valved, from ten to twelve-celied, 

 with one seed in each cell. 



