OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 267 



their agreement is very strikinp: in habit, in leaves, in tlie 

 closely pressed bipartite pubescence, in the calyx, petals, 

 stamina, and stigma. They correspond, also, in some 

 other points, less obvious but equally important, \vhieh I 

 shall separately notice. The first of these is in having eight 

 glands on the receptacle ; a character peculiar, I believe, 

 to these plants, and which first suggested the generic name 

 Octadenia. The glands in Alyssum maritimum were 

 entirely overlooked by Adanson, are not noticed by ^I. 

 Desvaux, and M. De CandoUe has described only the four 

 that subtend the longer stamina. These certainly are much 

 more conspicuous than the remaining four, which, how- 

 ever, occupy the place of the only glands existing in several 

 of the most nearly related genera. 



The number and position of the glands in this genus 

 give some support, perhaps, to the hypothesis Avhich I have 

 formerly advanced, of the divisions of an hypogynous disk 

 being in most cases formed of abortive filaments; an 

 opinion more strikingly confirmed, however, in this family 

 of plants, by their form and texture in Alyssum calycinum 

 and minimum. 



The second point in which the two species of Koniga 

 agree is in the structure of the septum. On this, which I 

 consider as a new source of character in Crucifcroc, I shall 

 offer some remarks in speaking of Farsetia. 



arclc approximatis formato supra basin cvanesccnti in monospcnnis obsoleto 

 ortis dcsccndentibus. Funiculi iu dispermis polysperniisque in divcrsis loculis 

 alterni. 



Obs. Koniga ad Alyssincavum tribum Be CancL pcrtincns, hinc Alysso auc- 

 torum indo I'arscliixi acccdit, Sed Alyssum, uti in llort. Kew, et he ('and. 

 Syst. Nat. constituLum est, cciie divisione egct. 



K'Di^^vyi nob. facile distingucnduni sequcnlibus notis : Silicula subrotunda, 

 disco convcxo, limbo comprcsso, apicc rctuso, loculis dispermis, funiculis basi 

 scpto adnatis ct post lapsum scminum persist cntibus, supra liberis et cum 

 iisdcm dcciduis, in divcrsis loculis oppositis, in codem a styii basi equiciis- 

 lantibus: Fetalis cmargiuatis : Filamcnlis omnibus nonnullisvc appendiculatis 

 in spcciebus omnibus prrcter A, calycinum in quo lllamenta filirormia simj)licia 

 sunt et glandularum loco sctulai quatuor lilamenla nana a^mulantcs oxstant. 



Ad Alyssum sic constitutum et licrbas i)lerumquc annuas pubc stellari 

 foliisque intogorrimis complcctens pertinent A, cam])estro ot calycinum, JJnn., 

 strigosum Ilusaell, minimum inild. et strictum ejusd. a quo dcnsitloruui 

 Be.^ont. vix. dilTcrt ; I'ulvescens Smilh, ua\bellatum Vosv. rostratum Steo, micro- 

 peiulum Tisch. hirsutum Bieb. aliusque species iueditas. 



