384 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



turn/' after Moschatettina, and I think very improperly, 

 for the fruit of Moschatellina is reckoned bacciferous ; 

 but I could never as yet find the fruit come to any per- 

 fection. There are several of the Pimpinellae species that 

 seldom come to maturity, therefore it is difficult to make 

 observations on them to purpose. 



Ageratum vulg. foliis serratis \Ac1iillaea Ptarmaca, 

 Linn.?] I find constantly with a radiate flower, and is so 

 placed by Tournefort (Inst. R. Herb., 496), so that he has 

 corrected himself in this particular. 



I have been mistaken in my former account I gave you 

 of Herniaria, following too much the faith of Dr. Tourne- 

 fort, not having examined it nicely enough myself ; there- 

 fore what I have discovered since is as follows : Herniaria 

 Ger., J. B., has a tetrapetalous and herbaceous flower, 

 whose pistil becomes a round membranoidous carinulate 

 or straight capsule, like the fruit of the Linum catharti- 

 cum, divided into eight loculaments, in each of which is 

 contained one small seed, ovato-acuminatum. Besides the 

 four herbaceous petala, that are green without and white 

 within, it has also several stamina ; but those petala never 

 become the involucra seminis. This is what I have found 

 on repeated observations. Tournefort (Inst. R. H.) places 

 it "inter herbas flore stamineo cujus pistillum abit in 

 semen calice obvolutum;" and in the particular note 

 says, " Quoad pistillum deinde abit in semen in capsula 

 oblonga et striata, quse calix floris fuit, reconditum." 

 But this plant cannot properly be called staniineous ; for 

 the petala or calyx never become the capsule or involucra 

 seminis; but they have a distinct thin membranaceous 

 capsule, as above described. You have also given it a 

 stamineous flower, consisting of four herbaceous petala, 

 and placed it amongst the Polygonums ; but whether it 

 can be properly called stamineous for the reasons above, 

 I leave it for you to determine. 



Quaere if Herniaria, Ger., J. B. (page 69, Synopseos) 

 [H. glabra, Linn.], be a distinct genus from Millegrana 



