Careija. polyandria monogynia. 637 



trees, thirteen years old, about twelve feet to the branches 

 and twenty-four inches in circumference, four feet from the 

 ground. Branches scattered, and dividing without order. 

 Bark pretty smooth, ash-coloured, and alioundin : with 

 very strong fibres, fit for cordage ; whole height of the 

 young trees about thirty feet. Leaves alternate, approxi- 

 mate about the ehds of the branches, short-petioled, 

 obovate-oblong, firm and glossy, obtuse-pointed, slig'itly- 

 crenulate. from eight to twelve inches long, and From four 

 to seven broad. Stipules npne. Spikes or heads termi- 

 nal, sub-globular. Flowers lar^e, sessile, crowded, from 

 six to twelve together from the spike tyr he;id, expanJing 

 in succession at night, and dropping soon after sun-rise, 

 inodorous. Bractes tern, embracing the base of the gcnn 

 on the outside, ovate, smooth. Calyx superior, four, rarely 

 five-parted, smooth, permanent ; segments semilunar, 

 firm, and fleshy. Petals four, rarely five, ollong, obtuse, 

 expand ng, of a pale greenish yellow ; soon after expansion 

 the margins become so much rolled back, as to make 

 them appear sharp-pointed, inserted into a hollow rim 

 round the crown of" the germ, within the base of the 

 calyx. Filaments numerous, all united into one thick,, 

 fleshy ring near the base, and inserted within the petals, 

 into the same ring, naturally dividing into three sorts, the 

 first or innermost, short and converging round the lower 

 part of the style, these are abortive ; the second nearly 

 as long as the petals, and fertile; the ^A?r(Z as long as the 

 petals, of a pretty deep red colour and abortive also. An- 

 thers small, and attached to the second, or middle range 

 offilaraentsonly. Gerwi inferior, semiquadrilocular. Recep- 

 tacles four, parietal two-lobed, meeting below in the centre 

 (the body of the receptacle being there exactly rectan- 

 gular,) though receding in the upper part ; hence four- 

 celled below, and one-celled above. Ovula numerous and 

 arranged in six vertical rows in each cell. In the other 

 arboreous species (C. arborea) there are only two rows 



