Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 255 



11 lines apart. The peduncles are axillary, 1 to 2 lines long, 

 with a pair of bracteoles supporting them at their origin ; and 

 they bear a solitary male spikelet, which is ovate, 2^ to 3 lines 

 long, bracteated at base, with four pairs of imbricated involucels 

 briefly conjoined at their base into a sheath, subcoriaceous and 

 1 line long; perigonium somewhat longer than its own involucel; 

 staminiferous column twice its length, bearing 5-7 sessile yel- 

 low anthers opening by two pores in their apex. The fructi- 

 ferous spikelets are on a distinct specimen : here the peduncle is 

 1 inch long, 2-bracteolate a little above the middle, bearing a 

 solitary oval spikelet 3 lines long, 2 lines broad; involucels 

 broadly ovate, gradually diminishing towards their summits, 

 coriaceous, with a narrow membranaceous border; two erect 

 achenia H line long, elliptic, plano-convex, perforated at the 

 apex, with no portion of the tubillus exserted*. 



4. Ephedra Andina,Y6yp. ; Meyer, Mem. Acad. Petrop. v. 78; 

 — caulibus plurimis subhumifusis, ramis ramulisque ramosis- 

 simis adscendentibus, singulis ad pedem vaginatim foliosis, 

 flexuosis, nodosis, subarticulatis, internodiis subbrevibus, vi- 

 ridiusculis, granuloso-striatellis ; foliis minimis, oppositis, co- 

 riaceis, acutis, imo vaginatim nexis, lobis in junioribus subu- 

 lato-acuminatis, mucronulatis, serius distinctis ; spicellis 3 

 axillaribus, breviter pedunculatis, solitariis vel binis glomeratis, 

 basi 2-bracteolatis ; involucellis per paria 6 decussatim oppo- 

 sitis et imbricatis, imo vaginatis, obovatis, primum submem- 

 branaceis et flavescentibus, serius subcoriaceis et membranaceo- 

 marginatis ; perigonio petaloideo, limbo 2-lobo ; columna 

 staminifera longe exserta, antheras 5-6 sessiles apice 2-porosas 

 gerente : spicellis fructiferis axillaribus, solitariis, longe pe- 

 dunculatis; pedunculo in medio 2-bracteolato; involucellis 

 majoribus, magis coriaceis ; acheniis 2, collateralibus, termi- 

 nalibus, glaucis, striatellis, involucello paulo longioribus, 

 apice perforatis; tubillo breviter exserto, apice insequaliter 

 fisso aut lacerato. — In Andibus Chilensibus ; v. s. in herb, meo 

 et Hooker., 8 Cordillera de Maule (Germain) ; in herb. Hooker., 

 § Chile australis (Dr. Philippi). 



In the memoir above cited, Meyer has confounded together 

 (but with some doubt) all the Chilean species of Ephedra. The 

 above-described plant, from the provinces south of the River 

 Maule, the region visited by Poppig, has been selected as the 

 type of E. Andina, Popp. It is a well-marked species. The 

 foregoing diagnosis, drawn wholly from it, should be substituted 

 for the more general character assigned by Meyer. It seems to 

 be a very bushy plant, its lower branches hanging on the ground, 

 * A figure of this plant will be seen in (loc. cit.) Plate 76 a. 



