"T d 
OF THE GENUS FREMONTIA. 297 
of such typical Melastomata as M. decemfidum, Roxb., and M. Malaba- 
thricum, L., and of which a very good representation has been given 
by Wight ;* the five longer ones have purple anthers and a connective 
longer than themselves, also purple; the base bicalcarate, and, as well 
as the filament, yellow ; in the five shorter ones, the tips of the exap- 
pendiculate anthers reach as high only as the spurs of the longer ones, 
the locelli are transversely rugulose, and with the filaments are entirely 
yellow. With respect to the fruit, so far from being a dry capsule, it 
is a pleasantly-tasted, black, thoroughly succulent berry, when ripe, 
whilst the fruit of none of the other Chinese species ever become so 
at all, or are indeed more than fleshy in texture whilst doors and 
eventually quite UA and would be more ey described as “ cap- 
sule primum carn demum exsucce.” The calyx-tube has 
simple sparse bristles, un lower portion formed of green cylindrical 
prolongations of the cellular tissue, on which are seated red bulb-like 
simple hairs. The laciniæ, too, though ciliate, are destitute of those 
penicilliform tufts characteristic of most Osbeckiæ. Naudin (loc. cit.) 
observes of the Chinese plant, “ A ceeteris ZMelastomatibus habitu dis- 
crepat, indole autem floris illis maxime congruit." The latter part of 
this sentence is strietly correct ; with regard to the former, the plant 
is sui generis, differing quite as much from the upright twiggy Osbeckie 
as it does from the shrubby Melastomaia, but it looks more like a 
dwarf member of the latter genus, from its broad leaves and the 
thicker texture of the petals. As Dr. Hooker places Osdeckia in a di- 
vision of the tribe characterized by ** anthers: sequales, connectivo vix 
aut non producto, inappendieulato," and assigns to the genus a ** cap- 
sula," whilst he locates Melastoma in one distinguished by “ anther 
ineequales, longiorum connectivo basi longe producto," and attributes 
to it a “ bacca,” it is manifest that the plant under consideration must 
be placed in the latter genus, and it is possible that Dr. Hooker, when 
writing as he did, overlooked the composite nature of Blume's unten- 
able genus. 
ON THE GENUS FREMONTIA. 
There are certain plants which have an unfortunate history. Wa- 
poleona is one of these; no two botanists have described it in pre- 
* Tilust. Ind. Bot. i. t. 95. 
VOL. vir. [OCTOBER 1, 1869.] Y 
