THE GENUS CANEPHORA 79 



in apice ramuli compressi, sensim dilatati et apice cupulgeformi " ; 

 and, to judge from the specimens in the National and Kew her- 

 baria, this estimate of its nature is correct beyond question. 

 Eichard makes the important addition that the ovary is multi- 

 ovulate ; he does not refer to the seeds. De Candolle (Prodr. iv. 617, 

 1830) includes the genus under the head " Genera rubiacea non 

 satis nota aut loco suo omissa," and his description is based 

 mainly upon Richard's, with the addition, already pointed out by 

 the earlier authorities, that the fruit is two-seeded. The affinity 

 " inter Gardeniaceas Sarcocephaleas post Lucingeam inserendum " 

 is suggested. 



Bentham & Hooker (Gen. PI. ii. 74, 1873-6) base their de- 

 scription upon De Candolle's account, but suggest the inclusion 

 of Canephora in the Mussandecd, a tribe characterized by valvate 

 aestivation. This, however, is incorrect; for, as Baillon points out 

 in Bull. Soc. Linn. Paris, i. p. 199, 1879, the aestivation is con- 

 torted, a fact which I have been able to verify in all the plants 

 examined. 



It would appear, therefore, that this genus should have a place 

 in the Gardcniece, as suggested by De Candolle ; and K. Schumann 

 has adopted this course in his account of the BubiacecB (Nat. 

 Pflanzenf. iv. 4, p. 80). The general appearance and structure of 

 the flower is certainly suggestive of Garclenieoi rather than of 

 MusscBudecB. 



One point in the generic description which needs amendment 

 concerns the number of the floral parts, which has hitherto been 

 given as 5-6 or 5 ; as will be seen below, four of the five species 

 are 4-merous. 



I have had no opportunity of examining fruits or seeds, and 

 so must leave unsettled the rather important question as to 

 whether the presence of one seed only in each loculus of the fruit 

 is to be regarded as a constant generic character ; the earlier 

 descriptions seem to point to this conclusion. The Musscendem 

 have, typically, many-seeded fruits, whereas many of the Gar- 

 deniece, e. g. Tricalysia (with which Canepliora is closely asso- 

 ciated by K. Schumann), have few-seeded fruits. The existence 

 of the latter character in Canepliora may thus acquire a certain 

 phyletic importance. In any case, the number of ovules in the 

 immature ovary is small — 5-7, according to K. Schumann. 



The critical generic characters of Canephora may, then, be 

 summarized as follows : — Shrubs or trees, usually glabrous ; flower 

 campanulate, with contorted aestivation of the corolla ; inflore- 

 scence consisting of a few flowers, borne in the hollowed apex of 

 a phylloclade, and surrounded by a common involucre ; ovary 

 bilocular, with few ovules. 



II. The Species. 

 Until 1897 the genus CanepJiora was known by the species 

 C. axillaris W. alone. In that vear an accurate figure of this 

 species was published in the Hist. PI. Madag., by Drake del Cas- 

 tillo (t. 444), which forms part of Grandidier's " Histoiro" of the 



