93 Mr. J. Miers on the Solanacese. 



the former will claim the precedence : in such case the species 

 of this genus will be as follows : — 



1 . Witheiingia solanacea, L'Herit DC. Prodr. xiii. 402 



2. villosa, nob. = Saracha villosa, Don ,, „ 430 



3. contorta, MoJ. = contorta, it. §• P. „ ,, „ 



4. Zuccagniana, nob. = — — Zuccagniana, Don „ ,, „ 



5. biflora, nob. — biflora, R. 8f P. ,. „ 431 



6. procumbens, nob. = procumbens, R. <5" P. „ „ ,, 



7. umbellata, nob. = umbellata, G. Don ,, ,, ,, 



8. alata, nob. = alata, Dun. ,, ,, ,, 



9. jaltomata, nob. = jaltomata, Schl. ,, ,, 432 



10. allogona, nob. = allogona, Schl. „ ,, ,, 



11. dentata, nob. = dentata, P.. Sf P. „ „ ,, 



12. viscosa, no6. = viscosa, ScAr. ,, „ 433 



13. ciUata, nob. = ciliata, nob. ,, ,, 683 



14. propinqua, nob. = propinqua, nob. ,, ,, ,, 



15. diffusa, nob. = diffusa, nob. „ ,, „ 



16. laxa, nob. = laxa, nob. „ „ ,, 



1/. auriculata, nob. ■=■ auriculata, nob. ,, ,, ,, 



18. conspersa, noh. = conspersa, 7iob. „ ,, 684 



19. glabrata, nob. = glabrata, nob. „ „ „ 



20. acutifolia, noh. := acutifolia, nob. ,, ,, „ 



21. vestita, Mo6. = vestita, no6. ,, ,, „ 



22. glandulosa, nob. = glandulosa, nob. „ „ „ 



23. Candollei, nob. = Micrsii, A. DC. 



The Saracha geniculata, Mart. Gall. (Prodr. xiii. 430), should 

 be removed from this genus and placed in Physalis (P. genicu- 

 lata) : this is evident from the description of its iniloi'escence and 

 other characters, among which is that the berry is edible as in 

 P. Peruviana. 



In order to explain the ground on which my conviction of the 

 identity of Witheringia and Saracha is founded, looking at this 

 latter genus in the sense in which it has been hitherto under- 

 stood, it may be well to observe, that a difference in the descrip- 

 tion of generic characters often results from an investigation of 

 the flowers in a living or a dried state: thus in Saracha (as hitherto 

 limited), the corolla when dried scarcely shows the fornicated 

 origin of the filaments, the dilated bases of which in that state 

 appear flattened, as if simply adnate to the bottom of the tube ; 

 but when these are seen in a living state, the filaments will be 

 found to spring out of as many dilated salient glands, the mar- 

 gins of which often extend upward for some short distance along 

 the tube and form conspicuous hollow cups that secrete a necta- 

 riferous juice, a corresponding furrow being often seen externally 

 at the bottom of the tube opposite these glands ; the hairy fila- 

 ments spring at an angle from and are in fact an extension of 

 the front margin of these cups, which, with the dense clothing 

 of long cottony hairs generally seen about the base of the tube, 

 form altogether a kind of fornix or aiinulus around the ovarium : 

 the anthers are seen in a somewhat connivcnt group surrouiuling 



