p. 412, that would probably have to be separated generlcally from 

 J.-esembrypnthemuni when better known. B ut as at that time I had 

 not seen flowers or fruits of any species belonging to the 

 grour, I v/as unable to assign characters whereby to separate it; 

 and previously I had associated the spedies with those now placed 

 un(?er the genus I'itrophyllum, in which I was at first follov/ed 

 by Schwantes, who enumer- 

 ates the s'^ecies under a section of that genus, but v.'ithout a work 

 of desc^intion by v;hich it could be identified. Recently, hov.-ever, 

 he has separated it as a distinct genus, in v;hich opinion I agree 

 wit>i him, for having been able during the past four years to study 

 livinsn nlants in the adult end seedline- stages of ^"onilarle and 

 i'itrorihyllum, I find they differ so conspicuously in vegetative 

 characters, long pedicels, stout stigmas, and sligntly in fruit, 

 that I no longer hesitate to consider them as distinct genera, es- 

 pecially as I.'onilarie is easily distinguished from all its allies 

 by the stems and leaves alone. 



^Tom I-itronhyllum it differs in its peculiar mode of grov/th, 

 as f olloivs : — The first of the two annual pairs of leaves is redi- 

 mentary, consistinsr of a pair of very shOr't, fleshy, hemispherical 

 lobes united at their base end at first closed together into a 

 small hemisnerical body (see Fig. 14, p. 29 of M. moniliformis com- 

 mencing to vegetate), which become separated as the second pair of 

 leaves develon, This second pair are long end sub-terete, and are 

 but very shortly united into a sheath at the base above the short, 

 bead-like intecnode from which they arise. This short sheath ul- 

 timately either decays or hardens into a short, free,- cup-like, 

 dark brovm sheath terminating the internode rnd enclosing the next 

 Dsir o-f* rudime'-'tary leaves, which ultimately disappear and leave 

 the sheath surrounding the base of the internode above it, as is 

 well seen in the stems of 1-. pisiformis and ^•-. chrysoleuca. In 

 Mitrophyllum the first pair of leaves are long, not sub-terete, and 

 :^ree excent at the very base; and the second pair are united into 

 a lonff eone with free, "'eafy tips or short, blunt roints. 



The follov/ing are the first comr>lete and illustrated descrip- 

 tions of these very curious and interesting plants that have ever 

 been i^ublished. 



Key to the Species, 



1. Joints of the stem twice or more than v/ice as thick as 

 long, button-like or depressed-globose, not produced 

 above into a short sheath, greyish; petals v/hite; fila- 

 ments and anthers yellow, M, moniliformis* 



£. J"oints of the stem usually (but not always) as long as or 

 longer than thick, more or less bead-like, produced a- 

 bove into a short sheath enclosing the base of the 

 joint above it, smooth and hard, dark brovvn. 



Joints o-P the stem ellipsoid or sub-globose; petals 

 stated to be yellow at the tip, then white, and 

 pink at the base; stamens with red filaments and 

 yellow anthers. M, pisi forme, 



3, Joints of the stem somewhat compressed and obscurely 4- 

 angled; petals white; filaments and anthers deep 

 yel'^ovj, M. chrysoleuca, 



M. moniliformis, Schv^ant. in Ggrtenvcelt, 1929, 60.— -i^lant 



