166 Mr D. Don on the Affinities of Glaux, <^c. 



collection at Bury Hill, and from which I perceive that the 

 seeds are compressed, cuneiform, and truncate at the apex, 

 and narrowed towards the base, which is furnished with a pro- 

 tuberance, arising from an elongation of the testa and umbi- 

 lical cords. The testa is coriaceous, and marked outwardly with 

 numerous shallow furrows. The genera would seem, therefore, 

 to constitute an intermediate group between the Hypoxidcee and 

 Brojneliacece, to which last M. Kunth has referred them. 



GLAUX, L. 



Syst. Linn. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



Ord. Nat. PLANTAGINE^, Juss. 

 Call/a; liberus, monophyllus, catnpanulatus, coloratus, 5-fidus : lobis oblongis, 

 obtusis, concavis, uestivatione imbricatis. CorollaO. Stamina 5, h^'pogyna, ca- 

 lycinis laciniis alterna : Jilamenta subulata, glabra, inferne compressiuscula : 

 antlierm biloculares, peltatse, basi emarginatte, apice inappendiculatte : loculis 

 parallelis, rima longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. PoWen. farinaceum. Pistillum: 

 ovarium globosum, uiiiloculare, pluriovulatum : stylus teres, glaber, medio de- 

 flexus ! stigma purn'tum obtusum, pruinosum. Capsula sphaerico-ampuUaris, 

 unilocularis, 5..valvis, oligosperma, calyce marcescente basi obvoluta, et stylo 

 persistente coronata. Placenta centralis, carnosa, cavitatem capsuloe implens 

 Semina 5 circiter, nidulaiitia, hinc convexa, inde angulata, undique elevato- 

 punctata : testa simplex, crassiuscula, cellularis, submucilaginosa : albumen 

 copiosum, carnosum. Embryo axilis, teres, lonpfitudine fere albuminis : coty- 

 ledones obtuspe, brevissimre : radiciila cylindracea, obtusa, infera, centripeta. 

 Plumula inconspicua. 



Herba (littorea)7)erere?i!i-, radice repentc. Caules teretes, succulenti, erecti, sub- 

 simpUces. Folia opposila, sessilia, ligulata, subcarnosa, integerrima, margine car- 

 tilaginea ; superiora scepe sparsa. Flnres axi/lares, solitarii, subsessiles, rosei. 



I propose to place this genus at the end of Plantaginece, 

 where it will form the connecting link between that family and 

 PrimtdacecB, to which it has hitherto been referred. The sim- 

 ple nature of the floral envelope, the alternation of the stamina 

 with its lobes, and the structure of its fruit and seeds, shew a 

 marked affinity to the former, while in habit it corresponds better 

 with the latter family. Both Glanx and Littorella agree in the in- 

 sertion of stamina , and the variation in the modes of dehiscence 

 of the capsule to be found in Primulacece, shews that this cha- 

 racter can only be considered of generic importance. The floral 

 envelope of Plantag'mete is elearly a calyx, and the scales at its 

 base are to be regarded as bractese, which are also present in 

 Primulacea. The nature of the albumen, when present, and 



