TWO OLD AMERICAN TYPES. 131 



Diet., where Houstoun's name Montia is cited as a synonym. A 

 figure of the plant bearing the same name, as well as a fall 

 description, is to be found in Houstoun's MSS., and another 

 Houstoun specimen from Vera Cruz is in Herb. Sloane ccxcii, 

 fol. 62. Mr. Britten agrees with me in considering that the 

 fragments (consisting of fruits and one leaf) in Cliffort's herbarium 

 are evidently a portion of the specimens sent by Houstoun, and 

 were, as I have said, sent to Linnaeus by Miller. It is true that 

 Linn^us (Hort. Cliff. 211) implies some doubt as to the identity of 

 Houstoun's Montia with Hellocarpus r but there is no question as 

 to the identity of the two. The figure of the plant (excluding the 

 fruit) is from a plant (evidently young) in Cliffort's garden ; it may 

 be noted that Miller grew it from seed sent by Houstoun in Chelsea 

 Garden, where " the plant produced flowers and ripened seeds 

 several years." 



Dr. K. Schumann unites several species with E. americana, 

 among them H. tomentosus Turcz. I have carefully compared 

 Linnseus's type specimens with Turczaninow's description, and 

 with one of the plants on which he bases this, and cannot in any 

 way separate them. Both are Mexican, H. tomentosus coming from 

 Miradores and Oaxaca, while the typical americana is from Vera 

 Cruz. The plants referred by Schumann to his H. americana var. 

 tijpica have the lower surface of the leaf subglabrous, but both the 

 Cliffortian and Houstounian specimens agree in having the leaves 

 softly tomentose below, t and in this respect therefore these latter 

 differ from the specimens which Dr. Schumann considers typical. 

 In the light then of these facts a revision of the earlier species 

 enumerated by Mr. Eose seems desirable. 



H. americanaI L. Sp. PI. i. 448 (1753) ; Miller, Gard. Diet, 

 ed. 8 (1768). H. tomentosus Turcz. Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. xxxi, 

 pt. 1, 225 (1858). 



Hab. Vera Cruz, Houstoun ! Mirador, Linden, 857 ! Vera Cruz, 

 Galeotti, 4155 ! 4162 ex Turcz. Orizaba, Botteri, 922 ! 882 ! Pringle, 

 6106 ! Cordova, Bourgeau, 1815 ! 1974 ! 



This plant differs from H. americanus L. var. tupicus K. Schum. 

 by the leaves being densely stellately tomentose beneath. Bourgeau 

 No. 1815 approaches H. nodifiorus Donnell Smith & Rose in general 

 appearance, but the sepals are not appendiculate. 



Var. ScHUMANNi. Li. americanus L. var. typicus K. Schum. Fl. 

 Bras. xii. pt. iii. 141, t. xxvin. 



Hab. Brazil : Prov. Minas Geraes, Prov. St. Paulo. Bolivia, 

 Paraguay, West Indies, &c. 



The leaves are glabrous above, except the nerves, which are 

 tomentellous, below they are subglabrous and green or cinereous, 



* " Hanc videtur Houstonus Montise nomine indigitasse in manuscriptis 

 apud cl. Millerum visis." 



t Linnaeus states (Hort. Cliff. 211), " superficies utraque folii parum scabra, 

 at viridis, concolor." 



\ The species being a tree, the specific name is rightly written as feminine 

 by Linnaeus. 



L 2 



