354 xxvu. STERCULIACEJE. (Maxwell T. Masters.) 



Bracteoles caducous ; anthers 15 9. PENTAPETES. 



Bracteoles persistent ; anthers 5 10. MELHAXIA. 



TRIBE V. Hermaxmieee. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pefals marcescent, 

 flat. Andrceciuni tubular at the base oiily ; stamens 5, staminodes 0. 



Ovary 5- celled 11. MELOCHIA. 



Ovary of 1 carpel 12. WALTHERIA. 



TRIBE VI. Buettnerieae. Petals concave at the base. Andrcecium tu- 

 bular ; anthers marginal, solitary or in groups between the staminodes. 



* Stamens \-seriate, anthers 2-4 between ec 



Petals with a stipitate ovate hlade 13. ARKOMA. 



Petals with a linear 2-fid hlade 14. GUAZUMA. 



** Stamens 1-seriate, anthers solitary between each staminode. 



Petals with an entire or 3-fid blade; staminodes short-obtuse . 15. BDETTNERIA. 

 Petals with a linear blade ; staminodes linear-lanceolate . . . 16. COMMERSONIA. 



*** Stamens pluriseriate, petals orbicular without appendage. 



17. LEPTONVCHIA. 



1. STERCTJLIA, Linn. 



Trees or shrubs. Lew* simple, palmately lobed or digitate. Infto- 

 rescence panicled, axillary or terminal. Flowers polygamous. Calyx tubular, 

 4-5-parted, often coloured. Petals 0. Stamina* column bearing a head or 

 ring of sessile, 2-celled anthers. Pixtil sessile or stipitate, of 4-5 carpels 

 opposite the sepals, each 2-many-oyuled ; styles connate at the base, stigmas 

 as many as the carpels, free, radiating. Rip* nirjich distinct, follicular. ses- 

 sile or stipitate, woody or membranous. Seed* 1 or many, naked, sometimes 

 arillate, sometimes winged ; albumen bipartite, flat or folded ; cotyledons 

 flat, thin, adhering to the albumen, or thick and fleshy ; radicle near to or 

 remote from the hilum. DISTRIB. A genus of about 60 species, natives of 

 the tropics of both hemispheres, but specially abundant in tropical Asia. 



SECT. I. Eusterculia, Endl. Follicle coriaceous or woody. Radicle 

 remote from the hilum. 



* Leaves digitate. 



1. S. fcetida, L, ; DC. Prodr. i. 483 ; leaflets 7-9 elliptic-lanceolate 

 adult glabrous beneath, calyx deeply 5-parted. Br. in Benn. PL Jav. 

 Rar. 227 ; Cav. Diss. v. t. 141 ; Roxb. HorL Beng, 50 ', Fl. Ind. iii. 155 ; W. 

 & A. Prodr. i. 63 ; Watt. Cat. 1137; Wight Ic. t. 181, 364 ; Thwaites Enum. 

 29 ; Miquel Flor. Ind. Bat. i. pt. ii. p. l~'2.Rumph. Herb. Amb. iii. 

 t. 107. 



WKSTERN PENINSULA, in the Concan, Malabar; BIRMA, CEYLON. DISTRIB. East 

 tropical Africa, Moluccas, North Australia. 



A tall tree. Branches whorled, horizontal. Leaves crowded at the ends of the 

 branches; leaflets about 6 by 2 in., pubescent when young; petiole 8 in. ; stipules 

 ensiform, caducous. Panicles erect, oo-flowered, spreading (formed immediately under 

 the youn^ leaves of the present year, Roxb.), branches glabrous, ultimate pedicels 

 shorter than the flower, jointed in the middle. Bracteoles minute. Calyx 4~| in. diam., 

 dull orange coloured, campanulate, deeply 5-parted ; lobes oblong-lanoeolate, spreading, 

 villous within, much longer than the tube. Anthers 12-15. Carpels 5, downy ; style 

 curved. Follicles as large as the fist, woody, oblong, boat-shaped, shortly beaked, 



