Mr. J. Miers on the Menispermacese. 35 



plants, ill the texture and form of the leaves, in the various 

 modes of inflorescence, in the number, arrangement and manner 

 of aestivation of the floral envelopes, in the form and position of 

 the stamens, as well as in the structure of the anthers, and their 

 mode of dehiscence, in the presence or absence of a distinct 

 gynophorus, in the variable character of the style and stigma, 

 in the extent of development of the ovule, in the form of the 

 nut, in the seed, sometimes exalbuminous, at others with albu- 

 men highly developed, which is often fleshy and homogeneous, 

 copious or sparse in quantity, and in other cases, singularly con- 

 structed of ruminated lamellar plates, and finally, in the varia- 

 tion of the form and development of the embryo, whose coty- 

 ledons are sometimes large, fleshy, and adpressed, or they are 

 slender and seraiterete, but are often broad, foliaceous, thin in 

 texture, divaricate, and placed in separate cells in the albumen. 

 Such extreme differences of structural arrangement would in 

 many cases induce a division of the family into distinct orders, 

 but the Menispermacea possess altogether so many features in 

 common, and are so very distinct from any other class of plants, 

 that their integrity as one whole group is both desirable and 

 natural. It is however essential to divide them into distinct 

 tribes, and these again into sections and genera, somewhat after 

 the following manner. 



MeNISPERMACEARUM DiSTRIBUTlO. 



Tribus 1. Heterocline^. Embryo homotropus, 

 cotyledonibus foliaceis, lateraliter divaricatis, et 

 intra laminas 2 albuminis in locellis distinctis sin- 

 gulatim inclusis (lamina dorsali simplici, ventrali 

 crassiori, sfepissime profunde ruminata, rai-issime 

 simplici) radicula brevi, tereti, supera. 



Cotyledonibus foliaceis, foraminibus plurimis 



perforatis? 1. Coscinium. 



Cotyledonibus foliaceis, simplicibus, viz. 



Stamina plurima, receptaculo globoso sessili 



adnata 2. Anamirta. 



Stamina 12 omnia libera -3. Calycocarpum. 



Stamina 10, i. e. 5 libera, et 5 monadelpha ... 4. Odontocarya. 

 Stamina 6 libera; antherae immersse, longi- 



tudinaliter dehiscentes 5. Tinospora. 



Stamina 6 libera; antberse adnatse, 4-lob8e, 



transversim dehiscentes 6. Jateorhiza. 



Stamina 6 libera ; filamenta brevia incrassata, 



antherae longit. dehiscentes 7- Burasaia. 



Stamina 6 libera ; filamenta dilatata membra- 



nacea 8. Chasmanthera. 



Stamina 6 libera ; filamenta petaUs involutis 



adnata 9. Fibraurea. 



Stamen 1, filamentum gi-aeile; antherae 6, 



bilobse, in capitem aggregatae 10. Parabana. 



3* 



