10 



more or less subscabrous, or sometimes sparingly armed with patent and 

 nearly straight prickles, flexiious above, branched ; branches slender, 

 sometimes flexuous, terete, glabrous, smooth. Leaves alternate, erect- 

 patent, long-petioled, ovato-orbicnlar in outline, cordate at the base, 2^-11 

 cm. across, membranaceo-chartaceous, nearly glabrous beneath, pubescent 

 on the veins above, deeply and palmately 5-9-fid with narrow and obtuse 

 sinuses ; lobes again inciso-lobulate with narrow sinuses ; lobules irregularly 

 inciso-dentate with vary argute narrowly deltoid and often more or less 

 falcate ascending teeth ; the mid-lobe largest and outer lobes gradually 

 smaller ; main nerves palmately radiating from the base ; lateral veins as- 

 cending, one to each lobule ; veinlets finely anastomosing ; petiole slender, 

 strict, terete, slenderly canaliculate in front, dilated and glandular-margined 

 at the base, glabrous and sometimes armed with a few incurved spreading 

 prickles, 1.^-7 cm. long; stipules adnate below, subulate-lanceolate, sharply 

 pointed, thin, glabrous, entire and minutely glandular-margined, 3-11 mm. 

 long in the free portion, veins running upwards. Cyme terminal and often 

 in the axil of the uppermost leaf, loose ; peduncle filiform, with small bracts 

 which have taper-tip})ed and glandular-margined linear stipules; pedicel filiform, 

 erect-patent except an erect central one, glabrou'^, l^-^.l cm. long. Flower 

 about 13 mm. across. Cal^'x shallowly campanulate, 5-fid ; the tube 

 shortly and broadly obconical, thick, glabrous, but pubescent at the bottom 

 internally ; lobes erect-patent in flower, but enlarged in size and reflexed 

 together with the tube in fruit, deltoid-ovate, with a minute and narrow simple 

 or trifid acumen at obtuse or sometimes nearly emarginate apex, entire and 

 often loosely glandular-hairy on the margin, woolly-pubescent towards the 

 margin ; veins obscure superficially. Petals 5, white, small, subrhombeo- 

 orbicular, round at the apex, clawless and broadly obtuse at the base 

 entire, thin, with fine and flabellate veins, 4|-5 mm. long, 4i-5| mm. broad. 

 Stamens numerous, inserted on the throat of the calyx-tube, erect, unequal 

 in length, very slightly shorter than the calyx-lobes ; filaments filiform, sharply 

 pointed at the a[)ex, glabrous ; anther ovato-elliptical, cordate at the base. 

 Ovary-cluster globose, about 3 mm. across, sessile ; ovaries minute, numerous, 

 crowded on a globose receptacle, sessile, reniform-lunate, laterally compressed, 

 glabrous, but pubescent above in the ventral suture ; style filiform, flexuous ; 

 fctigma terminal, dilated. Fruit scarlet, ovoid-globose, about 7-10 mm. 

 long, accompanied with dried filaments and more or less enlarged reflexed 

 persistent calyx ; carpels munerous, sacculent, obovoid-elliptical, about 4-5 

 mm. long ; stone hard, obovately reniform-elliptical, isabel-brown, finely 

 foveolate-rugose, about 2 mm. long. 



