196 Mr. J. Miera on the genus Coleophora. 



parison of it with the elongated muzzle of Jeffreysia is quite 

 erroneous. 



From this review it would appear that almost every external 

 organ is dissimilar in the two animals : Jeffreysia in fact belongs 

 to the family of Littorinida among the phytophagous gastero- 

 pods, Chemnitzia to the Pyramidellidce among the zoophagous 

 tribes. 



In conclusion I wouW ask, who is most open to censure in 

 this case ? The authors of the ' British Mollusca ' and myself 

 for having introduced a genus on what Mr. Clark thinks insuf- 

 ficient characters, or that gentleman himself for confusedly mix- 

 ing up characters essentially distinct ? 



I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, 



Joshua xA.li>er. 



XIX. — Contributions to the Botany of South America. 

 By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. 



Coleophora. 



This is a new genus evidently belonging to Thymeleacece, which 

 I established a few years ago, upon some very singular floriferous 

 buds sent to me from Rio de Janeiro by my son, who found them 

 growing upon the trunk of a large and lofty tree in the dense 

 forest that covers the ascent of the Serra d'Estrella, above 

 Iguassu, that being a continuation of the celebrated Organ 

 Mountain range, and not far from Mandioca, a place well known 

 to all botanical travellers as the residence of Baron Langsdoi-ff. 

 Owing to the extreme height of the trunk, its branches were far 

 beyond reach, so that it was impossible to procure a single leaf- 

 bearing specimen. We can hardly imagine that the buds here 

 described form a distinct plant, parasitic upon the lofty tree 

 alluded to, as we have no instance of any such parasiticism in 

 that family ; on the contrary, it consists mostly of large trees, 

 and we may conclude from analogy, that these are floriferous 

 buds, emanating from the parent trunk : this is the more pro- 

 bable, from the structure of the involucrating bracts that consti- 

 tute the buds, which are imbricate upon one another, broad, con- 

 cave, 4-lobed, destitute of any midrib or nervure, and marked by 

 numerous parallel or radiating veins, somewhat like those seen 

 in the fronds of Adiantum ; from this, they would seem to par- 

 take more of the nature of involucrating bracts than of leaves. 

 The chief peculiarities in its floral structure are the long filiform 

 support of the ovarium, which is inclosed in a tubular petaloid 

 hypogynous nectarium, whence its generic name, from Ko\eo<;j 

 vagina, and (\>opia>, fero. The only instance I can find of any 



