645 



subterranea (at least in its broad-leaved states), is con- 

 siderable and the two have actually been confused, it may 

 be useful to point out the following differences: 



Kerstingiella geocarpa. 



Flowers subsessile in the 

 axils of the leaves, paired 

 or solitary without a dis- 

 tinct common peduncle. 



Calyx deeply divided, with 

 narrow, linear , subequal seg- 

 ments . 



Style glabrous. 



Stigma terminal , capitate . 



Stipes of pistil lengthen- 

 ing considerably after fer- 

 tilization. 



Seeds oblong - ellipsoid, 

 6-7 mm. by 5 mm. 



Voandzeia subterranea. 



Flowers usually in pairs 

 on a common, more or less 

 hairy, peduncle terminating 

 with a callous swelling. 



Calyx with short, broad 

 and uneven teeth. 



Style hairy on the inner 

 side upwards. 



Stigma lateral, below the 

 pointed apex of the style. 



Pistil without a stipes. 



Seeds globose-ellipsoid. 

 1-1.5 cm. by 0.9-1.05 cm. 



"The mechanism by which the pods of Kerstingiella 

 become buried in the ground is very singular and almost 

 unique in Leguminosae. When the flowers, which seem to be 

 chasmogamous , are fully developed, they are close to the 

 ground. After fertilization the solid base or stipes of 

 the pistil, which in the flower is very short, lengthens 

 into a carpopodium and at the same time turns towards the 

 ground; then the corolla and the style are thrown off. The 

 ovary, still very small, is pushed out of the calyx, and by 

 the root-like carpopodium gradually driven into the ground, 

 where finally the growth and the maturation of the ovary 

 into the seed-bearing pod takes place." (From the Bulletin 

 of Miscellaneous Information, No. 5, 1912, of the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Kew, England.) For distribution later. 



LICANIA PLATYPUS. (Rosaceae.) 34915. Seeds of the 

 sonzapote from San Jos-r, Costa Rica. Presented by the 

 Department of Agriculture. "It grows in the form of a 

 tree, rather scarce on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, but 

 more common in other parts of Central America, where it is 



