62 ESSAYS. 
are well formed and filled with ovules, which, however, so far 
as I have observed, are never fertilized ; and the stigmas are 
smaller than in the fertile plant, and not papillose. In the 
other or fertile form, both the stamens and the petals are in 
an abortive or rudimentary state, and being shorter than the 
sepals, and concealed by them in dried specimens, are readily 
overlooked; the stigmas are large, truncate, and papillose, 
and a portion of ihe ovules become fertile. The Japanese 
species (/Hoteia Japonica, Morr. & Decaisne, the Spirea 
Aruncus of Thunberg) appears to have uniform and perfect 
flowers ;! but the species from Nepal (Astilbe rivularis, Don, 
the Spirea barbata of Wallich, but not of Lindley) is prob- 
ably polygamo-dicecious, like our own species ; at least, the 
flowers are apetalous ina fragment given me by Professor 
Royle, and the stamens mostly equal in number to the sepals. 
I have no doubt that these three species belong to a single 
and very natural genus, for which the name of Astilbe must 
be retained ; for I see neither justice nor reason in supersed- 
ing the prior name, as suggested by Endlicher,? on account of 
the incompleteness of the character, which correctly describes 
one state, at least, of the plant intended, by the subsequent 
Hoteia, the character of which is equally incomplete, when 
applied to the whole genus. The number of genera which 
are either divided between North America, Japan, and the 
mountain region of central Asia, or have nearly allied species 
in these countries or in the two former, is very considerable : 
in other cases a North American genus is replaced by a 
nearly allied one in Japan, ete., as Decumaria by Schizo- 
phragma, Schizandra by Spherostemma, Hamamelis by Cory- 
lopsis, ete. I have elsewhere alluded to this subject and shall 
probably consider it more particularly on some future occasion. 
Our next day’s journey was from Cranberry Forge to Crab 
1 “Flores in meo Bi sss specimine omnes inveni hermaphroditos, 
nee ullos polygamos.” (Thunberg, “ Flora Japonica,” p. 212, sub-Spirea 
Arunco.) 
2 «Si, quod nune asserunt auctores, Hoteia et Astilbe, Don, revera 
plant congeneres, posterius incomplete ab auctore suo deseriptum sup- 
primendum, et prius egregie stabilitum servandum erit.” (Endlicher, 
“Genera,” Suppl. p. 1416.) 
