NORTH AMERICAN 15 



cimen is from Arkanzas, 



754. Melothria punctata Raf. stem fili- 

 form angular, leaves cordate 5angular smooth 

 entire or subdentate, thin glaucous with minute 

 black dots on both sides, petiols equal to leaves 

 filiform ; peduncles uniflore, berries red elliptic 

 oliveform smooth — sent me from New Orleans 

 by Dr, Riddell as the M. pendula, the dots ap- 

 pear black glands as in Hypericum, berries ap- 

 parently red in the specimen, shape and size of 

 a barberry. 



755. Melothria pendula (or edulis) L. 

 Brown, Lunan. Sw, and Antillian Authors. — 

 Scandent. petiols auriculate or alate, leaves 

 rough trilobe or triangular subcordate sinuate, 

 obtuse, fl. polyg. dioical, peduncles uniflore, 

 berries pendulous ovate black size of a nutmeg. 

 In Jamaica and the Antilles, totally unlike the 

 tv^^o others, fruit very large eaten when ripe and 

 pickled unripe says Lunan, probably also in 

 Florida and cultivated in Louisiana. 



756. RIDDELIA Raf. family Cleomides— 

 calix 5 sepals subequal, petals 5 unequal, sta- 

 mens filiform short, commonly 5 subequal in- 

 serted on a flat disk, ovary sessile oblong, stig- 

 ma sessile obtuse. Pod sessile, linear compres- 

 sed bivalve polysperme bilocular, partition 

 contrary to valves, edges thick flattened, tru- 

 tescent, leaves simple stipulate, alternate flow- 

 ers, extra-ax illary solitary, — Another pretty 

 G. of the family Cleomidia, which now contains 

 25 at least, (see my reform of it ; ) this i§ re- 

 markable by habit and fruit near to the G. Pe- 

 ritoma, Warea, N. VodolobusJi, or Stanley a 

 N. &c but distinct from all these, yet they all 

 belong to my family of Cleomides, not a sec- 

 tion of Capparides. Dedicated to Dr. John 



