170 POLYGAL.E AMERICAN.E. 



subcoriacea, margiiiibus revolutis. Eacemi terminales, pauciflori, 

 comxDacti, sessiles ; flores 2 liu. loiigi, Icete caerulei, subsessiles ; 

 hnictese inox decicluas. Sepala exteriora subsequalia, ovata ; alas 

 obovatae, corolla breviores. Carina pulclire cristata ; petala lateralia 

 eloiigata, angiista, carinam ffiqnantes et alas siiperantes, fere usque 

 ad basim discreta. Capsula calyce ]3ersistente subtenta, orbicu- 

 laris, leviter emarginata, margine angusto crenulato, 1^ lin. louga. 

 Semina nigra, pilosa ; arillodium duabus appendicibus longis 

 prteditnm. 



Valdivia, Phil. ; Cbiloe, Lobb. ('?) Most easily distinguished by 

 its spathulate leaves with revolute margin, somewhat large flowers, 

 and crenulated margin to caiDsule. 



18. P. PERsisTENs, nob. n..sp. Caulis 2-6 poll, altus, ascendens, 

 a basi ramosus ; rami tenues, glabri. Folia obovata, basi angustata, 

 3 lin. longa, 1^ lin. lata, subconcava ; ramorum pars inferior 

 nuda. Eacemi terminales, pauciflori, in foliis supernis conditi ; 

 bracte^e deciduse ; flores 2-3 lin. longi, pedicellis brevibus glabris 

 suffulti. Sepala exteriora ovata, glabra, superius XDaullo majus ; 

 alae sepalis exterioribus duplo longiores, obovatae. Carina pulchre 

 cristata ; petala lateralia linearia, ascendentia, carinam requantia. 

 Capsula ovalis, subinteger , calyce corollaque omnino persistentibus 

 subtenta. Semina oblonga ; arillodium biaj)pendiculatum. 



Chile ; Bridges, 1132. The habit of this plant appears to 

 associate it with the section in which it is here placed, though it 

 has broader and thinner leaves than the other species. 



All the above species have a sessile capsule, as also have 

 P. Ci/parissias, St. Hil., P. corisoides, St. Hil., P. stricta, St. Hil., 

 and P. sedoides, nob., in Mart. Mor. Bras. Polyg., t. x., f. 3, 

 belonging to the Brazilian flora, all well-marked species, though 

 needlessly confused by synonymy. The last, with its small Sedum- 

 like habit and persistent bracts, is remarkably distinct ; it occurs 

 also in British Guiana ; Appun, 2226. P. stricta, St. Hil. (non 

 Gay) has acuminate wing-sepals and elliptic seeds. The two 

 remaining species, with globose seeds, are often confounded with 

 one another, and very needlessly with P. aspalatha, Linn. (= P. 

 polycephala, St. Hil.) ; P. C///vrtrmws has very narrow thin patent 

 leaves, while those of P. corisoides are more fleshy and deflexed. 

 They are both abundant in Southern Brazil and the adjacent 

 countries. 



The remaining four species of the subsection have a stipitate cap- 

 sule. Of these, P. thesioides, Willd., has larger flowers than the rest of 

 the section, and linear-ovate flat leaves ; it belongs to Peru, Chile, 

 and Uruguay. P. aspalatha, L., South Brazil, Uruguay, &c., has 

 acicular patent leaves and sessile racemes, and is identical with 

 St. Hilaire's P. pohjcephala, as I have satisfied myself from a com- 

 parison of the type-specimens of these two species in the Linnean 

 and Berlin herbarium respectively. It is, however, constantly 

 confounded with St. Hilaire's P. Ci/parissias and corisoides. P. 

 sahulosa, nob., Brazil, usually confounded with the last species, is 

 distinguished from it by its long- stalked racemes and other 

 characters. To these must now be added — 



