174 Mr. J. Miers on the Menispermacese. 



two or more raceme-like panicles which spring out of the knotty 

 axils of the leafless old branches ; in these the rachis is slender, 

 longer than the leaves, furnished sparsely with short branches 

 again branched, the branchlets supporting from one to three 

 pedicellated flowers, all braeteolated at the articulations and 

 rigidly pubescent ; the flowers have nine sepals in three series, 

 alternately smaller, the outer bracteiform, the intermediate 

 somewhat larger, the three inner ones double the length of the 

 former, nearly orbicular, very concave, thick, with their margins 

 valvate in aestivation ; they have three petals, smaller than the 

 sepals, fleshy, cuneately oblong, subconcave, emarginated at the 

 apex, having as many free stamens fixed to their claws; the 

 filaments, nearly as long as the petals, become much broader 

 and flattened towards the apex, to which two distinct divaricately 

 separated anther-lobes are dorsally affixed and partially imbedded, 

 the lobes bursting introrsely by a longitudinal furrow. Here 

 the chief peculiarity consists in the valvate aestivation of its or- 

 bicular fleshy inner sepals, in which respect it resembles Tiliacoi'a, 

 Abuta, Anelasma, Limacia, Triclisia, and Synclisia. From the 

 first and fourth it differs in having only three free stamens, 

 from the second and third in the presence of petals, from the 

 fifth in its stamens being only three in number with three petals, 

 and from the last in its sepals being orbicular and free to the 

 base, not oblong and united for half their length into a tube : 

 other differential features exist, which may be seen by comparing 

 the respective generic characters. This valvate character of its 

 stamens suggested the generic name *. 



Aristega, nob. — Flores dioici. Masc. Sepala 9, in ordine ter- 

 nario alternatim disposita, extus gradatim minora, quorum 

 6 exteriora bracteiformia, ovata, carnosula, prseter margines 

 tenuiores longe piloso-ciliatos, glabra, 3 interiora dimidio 

 majora, suborbicularia, valde concava, apice inflexa, carnosa, 

 marginibus crassis, sestivatione arete valvata, glabra. Pe- 

 tala 3, sepalis tertia parte breviora, alterna, cuneato-ob- 

 longa, apice emarginata, canaliculatira concava, carnosa, gla- 

 bra, staminibus paulo breviora et opposita. Stamina 3, libera; 

 filamenta unguibus petalorum affixa, sursum gradatim latiora, 

 crassiuscula, apice dilatata et rotundata ; anthera 2-lobse, 

 introrsse, dorso semiimmersse, lobis oblongis, segregatis, imo 

 paulo divaricatis, utrinque sulco longitudinali dehiscentibus. 



Frutex scandens, origine ignoto, sed verisimilite?- ex India orient alt: 



folia ovata, acute attenuata, 5-nervia, reticulata, glaberrima, 



petiolo hrevi et tenui : paniculse ^ racemiformes, solitaries aut 



gemince, e nodis aphyllis annotinis ortee, folii circa longitudine, 



* From apt, valde; artycD, teyo. 



