Nephelium.] sapindace.j;. 47 



side the disk. Ovary central, shortly stalked, 2-lobed, 2-celled, with 1 erect 

 ovule in each cell. Style erect, with 2 recurved stigmatic lobes. "Fruit globular 

 or ovoid, succulent and indehiscent, usually warted or muricate. Seeds nearly 

 globular, without albumen, enclosed in a fleshy arillus. — Trees, with alternate 

 pinnate leaves, and entire coriaceous leaflets. Flowers small, paniculate. 



The species are all from southern Asia, or the Indian Archipelago. 

 1. N. Litschi, Camb.; Miq. Fl. Ned. hid. {.part ii. 555 ; Wight, Ic. t. 43. 

 A tree, glabrous in all its parts. Leaves abruptly pinnate ; leaflets in 2 to 4 

 pairs, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 2 to 4 in. long, entire, coriace- 

 ous and shining. Flowers small and numerous, in trichotomous cymes, form- 

 ing an oblong terminal leafless panicle. Calyx small, cup-shaped, slightly 4- or 

 5 -toothed. Petals none. Fruit edible, warted, about an inch diameter. 



Frequent in Hongkong, as on the adjoining continent, but in most cases planted for its 

 fruit. It is, however, believed to be a native of S. China, although its precise indigenous 

 stations have not been ascertained. The Longan, another species of Nephelium, is also cul- 

 tivated in the island. 



3. ACER, Linn. 



Sepals usually 5, imbricate. Petals 5, or sometimes 4, or entirely wanting. 

 Stamens about 8, inserted on the disk. Ovary 2-lobed, or rarely 3-lobed, each 

 lobe enclosing 1 cell, with 2 suspended ovules. Styles 2, rarely 3, often 

 united at the base. Fruit separating into as many indehiscent samaras, winged 

 at the top. Seeds without albumen. — Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite, 

 palmately veined, entire or lobed. Flowers small, greenish, in axillary or ter- 

 minal corymbs or racemes. 



A genus not numerous in species, but widely spread over the temperate regions of the 

 northern hemisphere, extending also within the tropics to the mountainous districts of India. 



Leaves glaucous or whitish underneath. Corymbs pubescent. Wings 



of the carpels slightly divergent 1. A. oblongum. 



Leaves green on both sides, much veined. Corymbs glabrous. Wings 

 of the carpels divaricate ." '2. A. reticulatum. 



1. A. oblongum, Wall. ; DC. Prod. i. 593; Decne. in Jacauem. Voy. 

 i. 34. A tree. Leaves on rather long stalks, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, acu- 

 minate, quite entire, penninerved, with the smaller veins scarcely conspicuous, 

 2 to 4 in. long, glabrous, but glaucous or nearly white underneath. F'lowers 

 very small and greenish, in small pubescent trichotomous panicles or corymbs, 

 at the ends of the branches. Fruits glabrous, their wings about an inch long, 

 and but slightly divergent. 



Hongkong, Wright. A common tree in the mountains of northern and eastern India, ex- 

 tending also to Loochoo Island. 



2. A, reticulatum, Champ, in Kew Journ. Bot. iii. 312; Seem. Bot. 

 Her. t. 80. A tree, much resembling the last in the shape and size of its 

 leaves and in inflorescence, but the leaves are much firmer, green on both 

 sides, and the reticulate smaller veins much more prominent ; the petioles are 

 shorter, the corymbs or panicles quite glabrous, the flowers rather larger, and 

 the wings of the carpels rather longer and narrower and much more spread- 

 ing. The flowers are white, 3 to 4 lines in diameter, with rose-tinted sepals. 



On Mount Gough and in the Happy Valley woods, Champion, Wilford. Not known out 

 of the island. 



