128 LIX. CUCrRBTTACEiE. 



stem and foliage arc glabrous. Branchlcts slender, angvdar. Tendrils long, 

 2-fid. Leaves petioled, cordate, quite entii-e, 5-7-nerved at base, membra- 

 nous, mucronate. Flowers small ; the males on long pedicels, in subum- 

 bellate fascicles. — This very remarkable plant is named in honour of W. T. 

 Gerrard, Esq., who collected it in May, 1862, on the Nonoti, and to wliom 

 I am indebted for specimens of male and female flowers and ripe seeds. 

 For several years Mr. Gerrard* has devoted himself, with an ardour wliich 

 repeated attacks of fever and repeated thwartings from the unruly conduct 

 and superstition of the natives have not abated, to the exploration of the 

 natural history of Zululand ; and the pages of ' Flora Capensis ' and of 

 ' Thesaurus Capensis,' so far as published, bear ample witness to his success 

 in botanical discovery. He has also, in conjunction with Mr. M'Ken, most 

 generously contributed nearly 2000 species of dried plants to the Dublin 

 University Herbarium. I have, therefore, peculiar pleasure in inscribing 

 this genus to his honour. As a genus it will stand next to Alsomitra, Wall., 

 but it differs in habit and foliage, as well as in several characters of flowers 

 and fruit. My friend Professor Decaisne, who has succeeded in raising 

 young plants at the Jardin des Plantes, joins me in the specific name se- 

 lected. The seedlings, after forming a few leaves, have already acquired 

 tubers as large as a pigeon's egg. 



Ordee LX. BEGONIACE^. 



Flowers monoecious. — Male : Periantli 4-leaYed, coloured. 

 Stamens many ; anthers adnate, witli a thickened connective. 

 — Female : Perianth with a 3-winged tube, adnate to the ovary, 

 and a 4-9-parted, coloured limb. Ovary inferior, 3-celled, 

 with many axile ovules ; stigmas 3, subsessile, fleshy. Cap- 

 sules 3-^\dnged, membranous, opening by slits ; seeds nume- 

 rous, without albumen. — Herbs, Avith swollen nodes, juicy 

 stems and unequal-sided leaves, with membranous stipules. 



1. BEGONIA, Linn. 



Capsules opening by arched or longitudinal slits along the 

 face of the cells. Placentas from the inner angle of the 

 ovarian cells. — Fl. Cap. ii. p. 480. 



A large genus, chiefly American and Asiatic. Leaves alternate, petioled, 

 palmate-nerved, subentire, toothed or lobed, unequal-sided, frequently 

 semicordate at base, often scaly and brightly coloured on the lower surface. 

 Flowers cymose, mostly pink or rosy. — About 5 South African species, all 

 Eastern and from Natal. 



Oeder LXI. CACTE^. 



Flowers bisexual. Perianth many-leaved, imbricating, its 

 tube adnate to the ovary. Stamens indefinite. Ovary inferior, 



* Since the above was written, Mr. Gerrard left Natal upon a scientific 

 expedition into the interior of Madagascar, where he died of fever in 1866. 

 —J. I). H. 



