28 FLOEA OF JAMAICA Hedyosmum 



HEDYOSMUM Sw. 



Branches jointed at the nodes. Flowers unisexual, sometimes 

 dioecious. Male flowers, without bracts. Anther single, oblong ; 

 the connective pi'oduced beyond the cells ; the cells parallel, 

 dehiscing longitudinally. Female flowers paniculate ; perianth 

 very short, 3-lobed ; style very short. Drupe 3-cornered. 



About 21 species, natives of the West Indies and tropical 

 America. 



Headache Bush. 



Leaves lanceolate 1. H. nutans. 



Leaves oblong-elliptical 2. H. arborescctis. 



1. H. nutans Sw. Prodr. 84 (1788); mona^cious; leaves 

 naiTowly lanceolate, long-acuminate ; anthers with the connective 

 produced bey(jnd the cells nearly as long as the cells ; female 

 flowers distant from each other along the branches of a cymose 

 panicle.— S'tP. Fl. Ind. Occ. 959, /. 18 ; Griseh. Fl. Br. W. Ind. 

 173 ; Solms in DC. Prodr. xvi. pt. 1, 479 ; Englcr in Engl, d; 

 Prantl Nat. PJl. Hi. pt. 1, 13, /. 13. (Fig. 3, A-C.) 



Flowers throughout the year ; Wright 1 Broughion 1 Shakcspear ! 

 Swartzl Macfadyen\ Morse's Gap, McNab\ Port lloyal Mts., Purdie\ 

 Wilson 1 Blue Mts. ; Moneague ; Prior ! Morse's Gap, J. P. 900, Morris ! 

 Keith Hall, 2000 ft., Thompson ! Kentucky Hill, Bluefields Mt., 2000- 

 2500 ft., Harris ! PI. Jam. 6467, 7976, 10,204.— Cuba. 



Shrub 0-12 ft. high. Leaves 6-12 cm. 1., 11-18 mm. br. Male spikes 

 axillary with the female panicles, at first ellipsoidal, 1 cm. 1., then 

 cylindrical 2 cm. 1. ; with long peduncles 3 cm. 1. Female /lowers, each 

 with an ovate bract. Ih'upe 2 mm. 1. 



2. H. arborescens Sw. Prodr. 84 (1788) ; dioecious ; leaves 

 oblong elliptical, shortly and abruptly acuminate ; anthers, the 

 connective scarcely produced beyond the cells, subpeltate at 

 apex ; female flowers in clusters of two or three enclosed by bracts, 

 clusters arranged along a panicle. — Sw. Fl. Ind. Occ. 961 ; Griseh. 

 loc. cit. ; Sohns torn. cit. 482 ; Baill. Hist. Hi. 478 ; Englcr torn, 

 cit. 12, f. 11 ; Urh. Symb. Ant. iv. 192. (Fig. 3, D.) 



Flowers Aug. ; Wright I Broughion I Swartz I Macfadycn I Manchester, 

 Purdie 1 March ; J.P. 1084, Morris ! Catherine Peak, 4000 ft., Eggers ! 

 Morse's Gap, Q. Nichols !— Cuba, Porto llico, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, 

 Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Brazil. 



Shrub 12-16 ft. high. Leaves 3-12 cm. 1., 1-5-4 cm. br. Male spikes 

 ellipsoidal, to 1 cm. 1., in clusters along a common peduncle. Drupe 

 3 mm. 1. 



