DiCTYOGENS.] 



TRIURIDACEiE. 



213 



Order LXVII. TRIURIDACE^.— Tailworts. 



Triuraceae, Gardner in Linn. Trans. 19. 160. (1843). 



Diagnosis. — Dictyogem with unisexual flowers^ a free 'peiicmth, aiid numerous l-seeded 



carpels. 



Little perennial herbs with a creeping rhizome. Leaves solitary, distant from the 

 flowering scape, on long stalks, reticulated, entire, with sheatliing scales at their base. 

 Scape a little branched, scaly at 



the base. Flowers regular $ $ , ^}UrJ^L VV 



with 1 -flowered bracteate stalks. 1^^"^ *^ 

 Perianth corolline, 3- 6-parted, 

 spreading, permanent, \\'ith the 

 segments extended into long tails, 

 at the base valvate in aestivation, 

 the tails curled inwards before 

 expansion. ^ Stamens 3- 6 ? — ; 

 anthers turned outwards, \vith 

 disunited cells inserted on a large 

 central fleshy receptacle. $ Ova- 

 ries 00, sessile on the receptacle, 

 packed close together, disunited ; 

 ovules sohtary ? ; styles rather on 

 one side, awl-shaped, or thickened 

 at the apex and obliquely tnmcate. 

 Fruit unknown. 



It is in these words that Mr. 

 Gardner describes the present 

 Order, which appears to have es- 

 caped the attention of everybody 

 except himself and Mr. Miers. 

 He considers it to be alhed to 



Menisperms in some degree, but in reahty to belong to the present class, and he 

 distinguishes the Order thus : " From Smilacese by the ovaries being free and nume- 

 rous, not 3 and cohering ; from Dioscoreacese by the same characters, and by theu* 

 being superior, not inferior ; from Roxbm'ghiacese by theh' habit, dioecious flowers, 

 and very numerous ovaries ; while from all of them they are still further distinguished 

 by their extrorse anthers." Till the structm-e is more exactly determmed, it would be 

 unprofitable to speculate further on the affinities of these cm-ious httle thmgs. 



The species inhabit the woods of Brazil, in moist shady places. Their uses, if any, 

 are unknown. 



GENERA. 



Triuris, Miers. \ Peltophyllum, Gardner. 



Numbers, Gen. 2. Sp. 2. 



Position. Teiuridace^. — TriUiacese. 



MenispermacccB ? 



CXLIV. 



Fig. CXLIV.— 1. Peltophyllum luteum ; 

 h^aXma,.— Miers. 



2. its leaf ; 3. its flower; 5. its carpel ; 4. anther of Triuri 



